Before I Die
by Jhueko
Summary: Deadly missions and a familiar rivalry, a strange new sword that has its own chakra flow. An injured Sasuke and then an injured Naruto. Just my testing around story creator and a random storyline. SasuNaru
1. Prologue

"Team one in position," whispered a pink-haired girl, her emerald eyes shaded by the veil of darkness in the trees. Behind her, a slightly-large boy, Choji, and a thinner, coated boy, seated on a large dog, were hidden well within the bushes, using special jutsu to conceal the animal--Kiba. The girl was talking through a specially enhanced wireless communicator, her voice low.

"Team two, in position," The boy that had whispered this was concealed among dark, shadowed rocks, his voice--sounding apathetic and cold--went into his own communicator. Next to him was a man, about his age, in a black overcoat, which covered the majority of his face, which was finished being concealed by black shades--Shino--and a blond-haired girl with pale, blue-ish eyes was behind the two, staring ahead.

"Yeah, team three, ready! Let's go!" The blond who had whispered into his own communicator grinned, turning to face a black-haired boy and girl, the boy with black eyes, who was Shikamaru, and the girl with white ones, Hinata. "Let's go," he informed, turning his sapphire-blue eyes to the nearby building. Instantly, all three groups disappeared, moving further towards their objective.

Naruto, the blond boy, frowned. He didn't like being separated from his usual team--the cruel Sasuke and the bouncy, pink-haired Sakura. From behind him, Shikamaru told him to hurry up, and he did.

Soon, all the groups were in positions inside the castle, nearby each other, hidden within the shadows. Shikamaru moved his hands about, forming seals, casting his shadow-control jutsu on one of the two guards in the room. Sasuke turned to Ino, signaling her to do something with his head. The girl nodded, former her own hand seals, using her own special jutsu--mind-swap jutsu--on the other guard, who she used to silently kill the guard bound without knowing by Shikamaru's shadow jutsu. She then had him kill himself. When her mind was safely back in her own body, Sasuke tapped twice on his communicator to indicate they were ready.

Naruto started forward, Hinata behind him. They stopped near the large, black chest, which was locked with parchment seals. Naruto concentrated, brought out his fox demon chakra, and held his hand over the chest.

A large flame sparked, pushing Naruto far back and into a wall with a harsh-sounding thump. It ended up messing up his leg, so he groaned in pain as he fell after trying to get up. "Hinata!"

"Right!" she said, activating her Jugen as the sword flung up through the chest, resinating a black energy. Hinata flung for the sword, grabbing the hilt using her gentle fists style to close off the chakra vents of the dangerous weapon. The sword suddenly jerked, flinging the girl into a wall, hitting her upside the head with the hilt.

"Hinata! Damn it, plan B!" Shikamaru yelled, running over to the sword, forming his seals and casting his Kagemane no Jutsu on the sword, but before he could even finish activating the jutsu the sword moved, flinging itself at Naruto.

"Naruto, move!" Sakura yelled, just as an extremely loud alarm started to go off.

The sword was too close and Naruto was still just recovering from the impact against the wall. Sasuke, noticing this, flung off his communicator at Shino--who caught it--and jumped in front of the helpless, younger boy, forming seals. He was too slow, though, and the sword got to him before he could cast his jutsu.

Naruto started up in horror at the bloody sword, flowing black with chakra--Sasuke's chakra. Hinata gaped, then ran at the sword, grabbing it by the blade and pulling it back before it could try to get to Naruto, sealing up the remaining chakra release points and dropping it to the ground. Enemy shinobi were suddenly surrounding them, all aiming their weapons at the group, ready to attack.

Naruto flung off his Anbu mask, throwing it to where Shikamaru caught it, crawling over to Sasuke, hands on his shoulders. He looked at the enemies surrounding them. "Now!"

Suddenly a light gray gas entered the whole room, veiling everything so they could make their escape. Pulling Sasuke onto his back, Naruto, leading the group, quickly escaped. Hinata made sure she had the weapon securely on her back before following them, using her Byakugan to make sure the enemies weren't following them.


	2. Scars and Bells

-Three days later-

"I used the Dokumeki no Jutsu to extract the poison that the blade sent into Sasuke, and healed as much as I could on our way back to the village, but there's a limit to what I know..." Sakura whispered, seated on the top of the memorial stone, staring up at the sky. She looked over at the Hidden Leaf Village's Hokage, Tsunade. "Tsunade-sensei, I know that I know so much about medical ninjitsu, but I felt so helpless there..."

"It's rare that I get outside," the woman said, kneeling next to the memorial stone, touching the name of the previous Fourth Hokage. "I know what you mean, Sakura, but... you know so much, but the type of injury he got... even I barely knew anything about it, or how to fix it. For you to be able to remove all that poison from his entire body must have taken so much from you..." The blond woman frowned, standing up. "You put Naruto-kun in charge of watching over Uchiha Sasuke, correct?"

"I wanted to, but Kakashi-sensei made Naruto do it and said I wasn't allowed in, or him to come out, until Sasuke-kun wakes up..." She frowned, sliding off the stone, staring down at the stone bearing the names of heros of the Fire village that died in battle with valor.

"Uzumaki Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke are rivals, but they are also friends. I'm sure that Uchiha Sasuke will not die so easily, when he wants so hard to always make sure that Naruto-kun doesn't surpass him in power."

"Why do they fight so constantly?" Sakura asked, being lead back to her house by the Hokage.

Tsunade shrugged, frowning. "Naruto wants to make Sasuke acknowledge him, that's all he strives for, because even though so many people do, Sasuke is so strong and always collected, but that's why Naruto wants to surpass him. Because of this, he advances fast, and this gives Sasuke a feeling that his power is threatened by Naruto's speed in advancement. I suppose they just want to make sure neither is stronger... so they fight."

Sakura nodded, stopping at her house. "Alright, thanks, Tsunade-sensei. I'll see you later. I'm worried, but I know I haven't slept, so I'll try... Goodnight,"

"Goodnight, Sakura." Tsunade waved, starting to walk off, back towards where she stayed as the Fifth Hokage. She stared up at the dark sky, the stars ahead twinkling beautifully. "Those two are such idiots..."

Naruto glared down at the sleeping form of Sasuke, his rival, and Sasuke, his friend. He closed his eyes, frowning, not able to bear seeing the legendary Uchiha ninja in such a state; no shirt covered his body, showing all the cuts and scrapes that were minor, most already healed up, and the main problem--the large quantity of bandages wrapped around his chest and left shoulder, barely exposing his naval and hips, then the blanket took over to cover the rest of his body. Under the blankets, all that the boy had were white boxers. His left leg had bandages around it, mostly the calf to his toes, save for his heel, and his upper thigh, exposing his bruised knee. He figured, Sasuke would despise Naruto like no other time before, not wanting to be seen all weak and all.

"I'd hate you seeing me in my weakest moment," he whispered, not looking at Sasuke, but away towards a single window in the one-window, small room. "So I'm pretty sure you wouldn't want me to see you like this, in your weakest moment..."

Naruto sighed, frowning, looking around the room. There was a large table against one wall in the room. There were many flower arrangements, a large bouquet from Sakura and Ino--Naruto guessed they tried to outdo each other's bouquet, since they both looked hand-done--smaller bouquets, two of them, from the other two teams as a collective small gift, a few gifts from some, and a card, which almost all of the nine had signed, a get-well-soon card. Almost all, save for--of course--Sasuke, who it was for, and Naruto. He walked over to the card, picking it up, frowning. He felt bad for not having signed it. Making sure Sasuke was still awake, he found a pen in a drawer under the table and signed his name on the top, in big, bold red letters--so it would have to be noticed--and made a little comment under his name in neat hand-writing. He hid the pen and put the card back down, taking his seat again next to the bed Sasuke was seated next to.

A monitor, showing Sasuke's heartbeat, was making annoying noises, occasionally matching the little sounds a clear pouch made when it poured more water into Sasuke's veins. Another bottle, connected to the same tube at the bottom where they mixed, held a light-green liquid, which was a special type of medicine. Some blood had penetrated through the bandages, making a few deep-red marks on the front.

Naruto turned, hearing a gentle tapping on the door, then stood and started for it. Along the doorknob were parchment seals, preventing the door from being opened from the outside. He opened it slightly, to see a woman in red and white holding out two things. Naruto took them, smiling, then closed the door as she left. Two pairs of chopsticks and two delicious-smelling dishes, though only one was ramen. As he sat down, starting to devour the ramen, he looked over at Sasuke who was slowly opening his eyes.

"Oh, so you're awake, about time." he said between slurps of his favorite flavor of cup ramen. He grinned. "You had me worried there for awhile, actually."

Sasuke stared at him, not sitting up, then just looked away. Naruto grumbled.

"Well, fine, then I guess you don't want this. I'll help myself," he threatened, picking up the other dish, staring at it. Tomatoes and rice balls were piled on the plate; Naruto recognized the dish as Sasuke's favorite, though he hated tomatoes himself, so it was an empty threat. He sighed. "Can't move, can you?"

Sasuke turned his head at the smell of his favorite foot, and at the question. "Not really..." he muttered, obviously reluctant to answer.

Naruto peeled apart the chopsticks, picking up a rice ball with tomato bits stuffed inside and held it over Sasuke's mouth. "Gah... Here, eat."

Giving Naruto a suspicious stare, Sasuke slowly bit down, chewing it and swallowing after a second. Feeling a bit awkward, but definitely hungry, he allowed Naruto to feed him. He didn't take long to get fed it all, Naruto taking an occasional few seconds to eat his ramen. After about ten minutes, both were done. Naruto leaned back a bit in the chair, staring at the heartbeat recorder. He could have sworn that the first time he'd put the chopsticks near Sasuke's mouth, the pace had increased a bit... Oh well, probably not, he decided inwardly.

"Thanks..." murmured Sasuke slowly, staring towards the window.

Grinning, Naruto shrugged. "Yeah, whatever. I told you I'd been worried, and I'll be damned if I'd let you starve." He watched the Uchiha curiously, crossing his arms after setting the foam cup and foam plate on the table. He stared over at the table with the large assortment of stuff. "You got a lot of stuff there, you know."

Sasuke's eyes moved over to see the table, then just went back to the window, only able to move his head. "So?"

"Everyone likes you."

"Jealous?" Sasuke asked, smirking a bit.

"Ha! Hardly!" Naruto stood up, walking over to the door, staring at the seals. "Once I take them off, I'm sure everyone's going to barge in and see you... But if I'll be stuck in here if I don't..." He sighed.

"Leave them there for now... I don't need the headache of a bunch of people..."

Sitting back down, the hyperactive, blond-haired shinobi stared at the usually-quiet one. "Yeah, alright."

A knock at the door after a couple moments of silence brought both the two back to their senses. Outside the window, it was extremely dark out, but some light was starting to shine though, the crack of dawn.

"Naruto, you're still in there, right?"

"Kakashi-sensei, hey! Yeah, I'm here." He walked over to the door, opening it slightly, letting in their sensei. "What are you here for?"

Kakashi looked at Sasuke, noticing his bad state and the two empty dishes. He picked them up in one hand, then went back to the door. "Actually, you have another mission that only Squad Seven can do. And before you say anything, it's a B-class mission. Not as dangerous as your previous A-class mission, but it's still going to involve shinobi on shinobi battles."

"Kakashi-sensei, Sasuke can barely even move his head, and you expect him to be able to go on a B-class mission?"

"Meet me near the memorial stone in ten minutes." He disappeared without another word. Sasuke remained silent, but Naruto started cussing to himself.

"I can't believe it..." He shut the door, crossing his arms. "You're so badly hurt, you can't do such a mission, I know that! He's expecting too much from us!"

Sasuke turned his head to stare at Naruto, who seemed genuinely concerned. "Stop fussing..."

"You can't even walk, Sasuke-kun!" he argued, frowning deeply. "I'll just have to carry you then..." He stared at the monitor, then shut it off before pulling off a little wire attached to Sasuke's chest and throwing it aside. "That medicine needs to all go in you, so we can't take that out... But I doubt you want it seen. You should probably hide it." He walked over to the table, picking up a large, loose black jacket and setting it on the end of the bead. Sasuke kept quiet, just watching Naruto go about and do whatever. When he felt his body sitting up, he noticed Naruto taking down the water and medicine pouches that were small and thin from a metal rod, he just closed his eyes. Naruto put the jacket around Sasuke, hiding the two pouches on an inside pocket, sliding them in in such a manner that they would empty on their own when they needed to without having to be high up. He grabbed a pair of loose pants and slid Sasuke into them without much problem.

"You don't have to do this..."

"You want to go out there nearly naked?"

"... Point taken..." Sasuke sighed, letting Naruto pull him onto his back, then slide open the window and jump out. Within a couple moments--taking longer only because Naruto didn't want to drop Sasuke or make him uncomfortable--they were standing in front of the memorial stone. Naruto gently set down Sasuke, leaning the other boy against the side of the stone. Sasuke managed to be able to move his arms and shoulders a bit, so he was a bit more comfortable, but he wasn't fully able to even control his body, so he remained in the acceptable position Naruto had put him in.

"Naruto-kun, hey!" Sakura yelled, running up to them, then smiled brightly. "Sasuke-kun, you're alright!" She bent down to try to hug him, but Naruto jumped up, pulling her back.

"Sakura-chan, don't do that, his body's still mostly paralyzed from the sword mission... That would hurt a lot on his part..."

"Oh, right... Sorry..." She sat down, frowning apologetically to Sasuke. "Sorry..."

"Whatever," he muttered, watching Naruto. He felt a little tug in his chest, watching the boy, but quickly looked away; he tried to tell himself it was just his injuries, but he didn't know who he was trying to convince.

Kakashi appeared in front of them, hands in his pockets, staring at them. "At the crack of dawn... Familiar, isn't it?"

"Yeah, you had us get those bells the first time..."

"And none of you got even one." Kakashi teased, staring at Naruto who was glaring. "Naruto is right, none of you got one... So, here you are getting another chance before your mission."

"What? Kakashi-sensei, you're kidding!"

"No, and there will be no more conversation. Because I did not have you bring any equipment, I can assume that, as chunin anbu, you have figured out what this is for. You have until the sun is fully up." He took a few steps back, watching the dumbfounded group. He held up two bells. "The same rules apply as before. One of you will not have lunch. And, this time, if you fail you will not get lunch, which I've brought with me, but I've hidden it. Go."

Naruto growled, then frowned, looking at Sasuke, knowing the Uchiha wouldn't be able to do this in his current state. He jumped up, starting after Kakashi, landing next to him and doing a side-kick. It was caught, and he was pushed back.

"Naruto-kun, you can't win like that!" Sakura stood up, looking sadly down at Sasuke. "Don't worry, Sasuke."

"I'm not."

She ran after Naruto, staring at Kakashi as the boy slowly stood up. Naruto took a step back, forming hand seals. Sakura, seeing this, brought chakra to her fists, punching a huge hole in the ground. Kakashi obviously twitched, jumping back to avoid the large attack, while Naruto cast his KageBunshin no Jutsu. Three Narutos ran at Kakashi, attempting to kick at him, but the two clones were destroyed, sending Naruto back and landing feet-first against a tree. For a second, he kept this state, then jumped back down next to Sakura. "We don't have a lot of time... Diversion," he whispered into her ear, jumping back.

Sakura, again gathering her chakra into her fist, jumped at Kakashi, who quickly jumped back, slamming her fist into the ground, causing more damage. Behind her, Naruto gathered a tremendous amount of energy into his palm and then hand, creating a large orb in his hand spiraling energy in a perfect sphere. "Rasengan!" he yelled, running towards where Sakura had, by now, exposed Kakashi to be, hidden within the ground. He punched into the earth, grabbing at his sensei's belt. He snagged the two bells, jumping behind Sakura, closer to Sasuke. "Yeah!" He grinned, jumping up and down happily.

Sakura turned, grinning. "Good job."

Naruto threw one of the two bells over to Sakura, who caught it, then stared sadly over at Sasuke. "But..."

"Don't worry," he said to the pink-haired girl, then knelt next to the Uchiha, taking his hand and placing the bell in it, closing the other's slender fingers around it. "See? Sasuke got a bell, no sweat!" He stood up, grinning still.

Sasuke stared at him for a second, sure his heartbeat had gotten faster at Naruto's touch, then he stared down at the bell and shook his head slightly. "You know I didn't earn this, nor do I need it."

"Eh, too bad." Naruto smiled down at him.

Kakashi walked over to them, surprised to see Sasuke holding a bell, then grinned. "Well, then I see that Sakura and Sasuke have passed. Naruto..." He looked at the ninja who had given the two bells to his friends. He saw the blond starting to walk off. "And you're going... where?"

"Home. I'm tired, and I haven't slept in awhile."

Sasuke and Sakura both stared after him, then were surprised when he stopped, turning around.

"Why are we really here Kakashi-sensei? You knew what was going to happen, so why did you bother us?" He glared at the gray-haired man, crossing his arms.

"You got your hands on both of the bells, Naruto. However, you then gave both of these bells to your teammates, one who was incapable of even getting one himself in his injured condition. The rules were to get a bell..." He stared emotionlessly at the boy.

"Kakashi-sensei, you said once, that in the world of the shinobi those who disobey the rules are called scum... But that those who abandon their comrades are worse than scum!"

"So you remember that from six years ago, then?" Kakashi watched the boy nod. "Well, that's good. You're all dismissed. And I lied about the lunches, there's nothing here."

"What about the mission?" Sasuke suddenly asked, still gripping the bell.

"Oh, that was a lie, too." He turned, disappearing.

Sasuke sighed, closing his eyes. Naruto looked over at Sakura, who dropped the bell and angrily started off. Grinning, he looked down at Sasuke. "Come on, we should probably get going back to the hospital. If they find out you're not there, they'll kill me..." He shivered, then knelt down, picking up the Uchiha on his back. Sakura was already gone, at home, sleeping. Sasuke would have put up some protest, but it wasn't like he could get around any other way... He could only move the upper half of his body, and barely his waist. He made his grip tight, but not so tight as to choke the other, around Naruto's neck.

"So you can move your arms, eh?"

"Yeah..." Sasuke rested his chin on the other's shoulder as Naruto lead them back to the hospital.

"That's good. When we get back, you have to open your gifts!" He grinned, not letting Sasuke have the time to reply. "OK, we're here." He jumped into the open window, sitting Sasuke on the bed. He took off the jacket, revealing the other's arms, the lower half of his too-thin stomach and naval, and his bandaged chest. Carefully taking out the water and medicine pouch, he put them back on the metal rod next to the bed, turning on the heart-rate machine as he put the small circular cord-end on the left side of Sasuke's chest under the bandage.

"I still can't believe Kakashi-sensei did that to us... That wasn't right." Naruto mumbled as he pulled the pants from Sasuke, putting the clothes, folded, on the end of the futon and pulling the blanket over Sasuke's waist. He had him leaned against the headboard. He grabbed a couple of the gifts, then handed Sasuke one. "This one's from..." He checked a tag on it. "Ino-chan and Sakura-chan."

Sasuke sighed. Naruto was going to force him to open these, he knew it... And inside would be proud declarations of love and affection... He thought, how agitating.


	3. Delayed Recovery

Naruto gently put the pink-wrapped present with a purple ribbon in Sasuke's lap. Removing the stuff from it, Sasuke slowly--so as to not make his arms hurt--slid the paper onto the floor beside his bed, staring at the gift. It was a beautifully framed portrait of the two women in a field of flowers, each holding the other's favorite flower. They were back-to-back, with their heads turning to give him a kind smile. The frame, a black metal of some sort, was made in intricate curved and swirled shapes. For a second, he just stared at it, before gently pulling out the back and standing it up on a nearby desk. Naruto grabbed another, wrapped in black and blue.

"Ino-chan and Sakura-chan actually got along, heh. This one's from Hinata, Shino, Shikamaru, Choji and Kiba... And Akamaru, apparently." Grinning, he set it gently on Sasuke's lap. The Uchiha carefully began unwrapping it, then slid open the box with a fingernail. Inside, he was staring down at two weapons--a kunai and a shuriken. The weapons, however, were quite odd--both were black and metal, of course, but each point of the shuriken's tips were split in two and curved outward. The tip of the kunai was also split in two, and both were also curved outward. Under the two weapons was a picture of the sword with its own chakra, sealed in a room with seals painted all over each wall, chains with parchment scrolls everywhere connected holding down the dormant blade. Sasuke sighed, a bit relieved to see the weapon which had done so much damage to him sealed down.

"Those are weird looking..." Naruto smirked a bit.

"They're really rare weapons, actually." He ran a finger over them, setting the box aside after staring at them a few seconds. "They're barbed like that and used mostly for hacking into flesh with one point then torturing the person by having both go in, then ripped out... I like them."

Shivering, the blonde picked up the third and final of the gifts and set it in his lap. It was wrapped in all white. Sasuke looked up. "Who's it from?"

"Uhm... Just open it."

"..." He looked down, peeling off the wrapping paper and ribbon, tossing the paper where he had the rest of it, staring down at a book in his hands. The book was leather-bound, the color a light-gray like smoke, and the whole thing had nothing on it save for the single mark on the front, the Hidden Leaf Village's symbol--the same that was on every headband of the inhabitants of the village. Sasuke ran a finger over it, noticing it was etched in somehow, then slowly opened it. Inside, all the pages were clear and divided into four sections. The front page and back page, however, were the only ones which had only one section for placing anything in it, right in the center. The back had nothing in it, while the front had a picture of Kakashi, Sakura, Naruto and Sasuke.

"Heh, like it?" the blonde asked, leaning forward in his chair, staring at Sasuke's expression.

"Yeah... It's beautiful..." He smirked, looking over at Naruto, then away, feeling a bit strange. "Thanks..."

"So... you knew it was from me?" Naruto gulped.

The Uchiha smirked a bit. "No, but I guessed, and now that you admitted it..."

"Cheater!" Frowning, Naruto leaned back a bit, looking at the flowers, then picked up the card, handing it to him. "You're always cheating, Sasuke-kun..."

Taking it, nodding, he opened the card, then pointed to Naruto's signature. "And you're always being obnoxious."

"We're even, then," he said, giving a confident smirk. He moved so he was seated on the edge of the bed, looking at the card. "Only in that sense, of course."

"Yeah, only in that sense." He placed the card inside the picture book, tenderly setting it down with the rest of his gifts, leaning back. "I'm kind of tired..." he muttered, looking at the blonde with one eye open.

"Then go to sleep..." Naruto stood, heading for the door. "I'll go tell everyone you're alright."

"Naruto-kun..." He watched the other moving to the door. He felt a strange jolt surging through his heart, and he realized his heartbeat pace had quickened for a second. Naruto looked back at him, giving him a questioning look, but he just shook his head. "N...never mind it. Goodnight, then." He laid down completly, closing his eyes, letting thoughts stream into his mind.

"Y...yeah..." the blonde stuttered, nodding. "Goodnight, then, Sasuke-kun." Slowly, he opened the door, sliding out of it and shutting it behind him. He found a chair nearby and pulled it next to him--next to the door--before sitting in it, leaning back and taking slow breaths, closing his eyes. Hee was still really worried about the Uchiha, but what could he do?

When he spotted the Hokage nearby, he waved at her. "Hey, Tsunade-sama!"

"Naruto-kun, hello there." She stopped, looking over at him, smiling. "Something the matter? And how's the Uchiha doing?"

"Heh, he's doing alright; he's sleeping right now because he was tired... And, actually, what's todays date? I was wondering some things."

"Today's the twentieth of July... why?"

Naruto, suddenly grinning, shook his head. "Heheh... No reason. Just thinking about something."

The Hokage walked over, standing above him. She reached out with her left hand, touching his chin, sliding her hand down his neck and curling the tip of her left index finger around a thin cord, gently tugging the necklace out from under his outfit. "You still wear this; do not forget that. It is the promise that you will become Hokage, a gift from me, handed down by another Hokage before you."

"And before I die," the blonde decided aloud, grinning, "I'll give it to the next person who'll become Hokage!"

"That a promise, Naruto-kun?" she asked, pulling her hand back and relaxing, a smile on her lips.

"Yeah, believe it!"

"That's good to hear... Anyway, you should probably go home and get some sleep..."

Nodding, the boy stood, looking at the door. "What about Sasuke-kun, though?"

"Worried?"

"Yeah... I don't think he wants anyone bothering him."

"Don't worry, I'll take care of it. You should just go to home." She rested a hand on his shoulder. "Because... I think he's going to be here awhile. It doesn't seem like he's healing fast, does it, to you?"

Giving the Hokage a quizzical look, he shrugged. "Uh, I don't know, but he still can only move the upper half of his body..." Starting for the door, he slid his hands into his pockets.

"Alright, thanks. Good night, Naruto-kun."

"Night!" He suddenly started in a sprint towards his house, just as he exited the doors of the hospital. His vision was straight and he just kept running, not stopping until he was standing in front of his doors, hand opening it slowly and closing it once he was inside. He breathed slowly, closing his eyes, back against the door. Finally, slowly, he opened his eyes, staring at the inside of his house. Kicking his shoes off and pulling off all his clothes, save for silky, gray boxers, he made his way to his room, falling on his bed. The ceiling, with no lights on or anything, was extremely dark, and kind of creepy... He slowly let out a sigh, slowly, moving his hand up and touching the necklace around his neck, the little stones, closing his eyes. Three more days... He'd have to plan something.

"And even if he hates me for it, or if he doesn't like it, or if he's still too injured to celebrate it... Oh well... Sasuke-kun... You should hurry up and recover. You're always so cool, and strong and stuff... And to see you so injured, and from just that one injury..." He sat up suddenly, shaking his head, falling back down on the bed on his side with a huff. Slowly, he pulled a thin white sheet over his body, cradling his head against a pillow. "Oh well..."

He felt his skin crawl, as if icy breath were touching against the back of his neck, forcing him to curl up even more. He almost felt like there were hands around his body, but with how long he'd been up... he decided it was just his imagination. The shadows around him, though, weren't only in his mind.

A tapping noise... Yeah, a tap... One tap... Two taps... Three taps... It was soft, at first, then loud...

"Are you awake?"

Opening his eyes slowly, staring at a ceiling lighted only by the sun, the body in bed under sheets in nothing but boxers and bandages sat up, staring over at the door.

That's right, he told himself, you're still in the hospital... And Naruto-kun isn't here... He frowned a bit, but then when he heard the question repeated, laid back down.

"Come in..."

Slowly, when the door opened, Sakura entered the room, Kakashi behind her. Kakashi made care to close the door quietly. Sakura found a seat, but Kakashi just stood with his back against a wall, his nose--as usual--burried in the latest 'Icha Icha.'

He turned his head, staring at them. Sakura smiled a bit, staring over at the three gifts on the table.

"Good morning, Sasuke-kun."

" 'Morning..." he murmured, turning his head away when he noticed his loud-mouth friend wasn't among the two. It was Team Seven, save for the hyperactive one... But the hyperactive one was what made them the unique team, what made them Team Seven. That's all he thought.

"How are you feeling?" she asked carefully, watching him through her emerald eyes. He stared over at her, giving a sort of shrug, noticing the sad look hidden within the jade eyes.

"Alright,"

"Good," Kakashi murmured, looking up from the Icha Icha. "How much of your body can you move today?" he asked carefully, slowly, as if choosing his words really carefully.

He sat up, stretching out his arms and fisting his hands, slowly relaxing them. "All of my upper body."

"So you still can't move below your waist...?" Sakura questioned. He looked at her, nodding.

"Well... that's a problem."

"Why?" He looked at his sensei, then at Sakura, staring oddly at them.

"We have an important mission to do, Sasuke-kun... Another A-class mission..."

"Why us?" he asked, half glaring at Kakashi. "Why not one of the other teams, like squad Asura?"

"Because the others are all out doing other missions... Besides, the both of you are the only available Anbu members at the time..."

Sasuke hand's slowly reached up to his right shoulder, touching the tattoo tenderly. "Yeah, OK..."

Sakura frowned, sighing. "I don't know if you should really be apart of this mission, either, Sasuke-kun... You'll probably take it personal and all..."

"What about Naruto-kun?" he asked, squinting his eyes curiously at her. "Has he been informed?"

When neither of the other two said anything, he just looked away, fisting his hands. He was angry at his body, pissed that it wouldn't heal fast enough. He was annoyed that it had gone to sleep, and that he hadn't asked Naruto to stay or anything. And, most of all, he was pissed at how weak he felt.

Kakashi looked over at Sakura, then back at Sasuke, finally speaking.

"That's the mission; to retrieve the nukenin, Uzumaki Naruto."


	4. Nukenin

"Get your ugly hands off me, you disgusting freak!" cried out a familiar blonde boy, struggling against the many hands--thousands, perhaps?--that restrained him from moving. His back was flat against icy-cold steel, his body about a foot up in the air. Cuts decorated his body, a few small ones and at least two large ones, as well as bruises. He breathed heavily, temporarily giving up the struggle, only to continue a few seconds later, growling as he did so.

"You're such a strange little boy, you know," murmured a voice from behind whatever was holding him to the metal. The whole creature--even the hands connected to the thousands of arms--were veiled in shadows.

"Let me go you bastard!"

"Why?" tormented the voice, the sound trailing somewhere else as slight footsteps could be heard in the pitch-black room, signaling he was moving. The hands did not, however, so that led the blonde to believe it was either a jutsu, another person, or some sort of device. "I have business to attend to... You will be a most friendly guest and stay, won't you? And do not worry, you need not consider knowing when you have overstayed your welcome, because I want you hear as long as I can keep you. So, with that, Naruto, I say, sayonara."

"Who the hell are you and what the fuck do you want with me?" his voice rang out. His reply was simply the echo of his own voice hidden within the eerie silence of the room, and--of course--the hands squeezing tighter around his body. His left arm already was completely numb, as was his right leg, and his bruises were getting agitated by the pressure being pushed against them by the countless number of fingers. He struggled harder, which only allowed him to meet with more pressure on his already broken, battered, aching body.

"You kidnaped me... and made it look like I ran away, didn't you?" he slowly asked, his voice raspy and breathing irregular. "And you used some weird attack that made me look like I was doing it... Right?"

No response.

"Yeah..." He coughed, a bit of dark red trickling down his lips and out from his throat. "I'm right... You... You are trying to make them come after me and kill me... They'll do just that, too... Heh... But before that... You'll die..." he murmured, knowing fully well he was just talking to nothing but the walls of the shadowed room.

"Damn it..." he whispered, frustrated at himself for even trying to reason. His head was hurting far too much... The freezing metal against his back, the icy hands surrounding and grasping his body, and the thick, unbearable scent of death that lingered within the room...

"You're sure you fully understand it, now?" came the scarred voice of the pink-haired girl, watching her team mate sheath a long sword in the hilt against his back and tighten the belt around his waist. Her sword was already sheathed, and her outfit was tight and secure.

"Yeah, yeah, don't worry..." he murmured, brushing a hand through the black hair that was slightly matted by the liquid pouring from the sky in small droplets.

"Alright..." She stretched her arms, looking at Sasuke. "No Kakashi-sensei to help us this time..."

"And no Naruto-kun to be an idiot and fuck up the mission..." Sasuke made sure Sakura was ready with a questioning look. She nodded, frowning.

"Do you... really think that Naruto went rogue?" she slowly asked, staring at her left shoulder where her ANBU tattoo was. She didn't know why she agreed to become part of the ANBU, but her medical skills were so useful, she decided to become part. "I mean... Even with the Kyuubi inside him... even if it partly took over his body, that wouldn't make him decide to destroy parts of the village, right...?"

Sasuke looked at her, starting to lead them to the edge of the village. His back was to her, so she couldn't see his worried look. "I... I really don't know. Let's just hurry up with this..." He shook his head, jumping up in a tree, speeding forward quickly. He knew better than to use the Shunshin no Jutsu. Not yet, at least; his body had only just started allowing him to control it, and it'd just drop on him if he went too fast. He'd barely managed to gain control of his lower body just the previous night.

Sakura, following quickly behind him, kept one hand always at her side and the other in a position near her waist, in a position that she could quickly reach any of her weapons if she needed to.

"Alright, we're going to use Shunshin to get to our first plotted destination point." Sasuke announced.

"Understood." She nodded, going off in a different direction, as did Sasuke, before both activated their jutsu techniques. Within moments, both were standing upon two large, white rocks in the middle of a lake, their feet just an inch above the water on the rocks. Sakura sat down, while Sasuke just stood there, eyes inspecting every section of the area. He only sat down, as well, when he was sure they were alone. He pulled out a thin slip of paper from under the bandage around his left arm, letting Sakura take it from him. She held two fingers two it, closed her eyes, then nodded. When he took it back, he did the same.

"Alright, understood." Sakura stood, looking over at Sasuke, adjusting the mask that hid her face.

The Uchiha also adjusted his mask, to show he was going to destroy it, then murmured something, making a couple hand seals with the paper in his hands before pulling his fingers to the mask, blowing out at the paper that he let drop into the air. Instantly, it was destroyed in the fire, and all remains of it were ruined in the water. Watching as Sakura disappeared, he used the same technique.

As he raced through the treetops, sped up by his technique, thoughts were racing through his mind. He couldn't understand why Naruto would do such a thing as to betray the village... Naruto, hadn't you once said that you'd become Hokage and protect everyone, even if it cost you your life... To die with honor, protecting the people of Konohagakure, even if it were before you became Hokage...? He couldn't help but question the other boy of the group in his mind, but he new better than to even utter a word.

"This is an S-class mission... Since you two are, technically, both S-class shinobi, as is Naruto-kun, and in the ANBU, you are the two perfect candidates for this... Well, other than that it technically is Naruto you're going to be disposing of. Sasuke-kun, Sakura-chan... For his mission, do not let your person feelings for who was once your teammate get in the way of who is now your enemy."

The words Kakashi had said rang through his mind, slashing away at his insides. His heart felt like it was being torn apart, and with everything that had happened recently... Then there was the reason they were hunting him down, and the reason why Sasuke was even more afraid of this mission.

"Naruto has become a nukenin, and as he left he stole the sword that you recently brought back. We don't even know how he did it, because of the fact that it steals chakra, and that the restraints were all removed... however, it is believed that he is affiliated with another party so you have to get to him quickly and dispose of him."

Kakashi has a great way of really pissing me off, Sasuke inwardly decided. And he's really good at it...

He found himself stopped on a thin branch, staring down at his feet which were connected to the underside of the branch, him hanging upside-down in the tree. His eyes scanned around, before his feet left the branch, continuing quickly. It wouldn't be long before they reached their destination. He could sense and hear Sakura not too far behind and to seventy degrees West of his current position.

"Naruto-kun," he whispered, biting on his lower lips as he thought, feeling his eyes starting to sting. "If you did betray Konohagakure... Fight me... Show me... Prove that we're not even... Or I'll drag you back..."

"Are you even awake anymore? Or have you given up...?"

A finger poked at one of the many painful, gray bruises upon the younger boy's body, jabbing it roughly, actually. The body affiliated with the voice took a few steps back when the other's head rose a bit, glaring with hateful, slightly-elliptic eyes towards the man. He could make out a figure in the thin light that emitted from a nearby window, which above rested a thick black panel. He guessed it was used to control the filtering of the light into the room. His eyes became squinted at the sudden rays hitting his pupils, and then closed, before opening to glare at the man once more.

"So you are awake... Oh, how sad. But I suppose that does allow for more torture..."

"Fuck... off... you... disgusting... bastard!" panted out the blonde, glaring at him.

"Naruto, what language... Ah, well, how rude as well! Just the more fun."

Naruto, who was able to see the man's features in the thin sunlight, just inspected him. Black, waist-length hair, a feminine, thin face, and dressed in a light-blue kimono that made him look like a woman with the way it was fitted. It reminded him of someone he'd once known... Someone that had taught him something...

"So, which would you prefer, Naruto-kun? For me to pour acid into your veins... or to pull our minor bones, bit by bit?"

"What's with that face of yours?" Naruto growled, demanding an answer.

"Oh, this?" he asked, raising a finger and touching it gently. "Well, a few years back there was this person you were around that got killed... You almost killed him yourself, actually. About your age, give or take a year or so. It was in the Land of Waves that he and his associate died. They looked cute together, don't you think?" He smirked a bit, walking closer so Naruto could get another good--better--look at his face. "Pretty, right?"

"You stole it, you stole that face from Haku-kun, didn't you, bastard!" he growled suddenly, his strength back. He could only feel four hands against his body--ankles and wrists--but they felt stronger than even the thousands that held him previously. He struggled, but when it didn't work, he calmed down a bit, still glaring.

"I didn't steal it, not really. I just made a replica. It is a beautiful face, though, isn't it? Oh, yes, yes... Your face is no where near as delicate and fragile as this one, nor that unique shinobi's... Come to think of it, the Uchiha's face isn't even as pretty." He shrugged, pulling out a kunai and pressing the tip dead-center into one of Naruto's bruises. "I'm going to enjoy torturing you... Then I'll cut you into little bits and pieces and find out all the secrets of your village, all the secrets of what lies in that body of yours... But I must say, that beautifully-drawn seal on your stomach is very interesting." The mysterious man lowered a slender finger, tracing the marks on Naruto's bare stomach around his naval. Still, other than the gray boxers, the boy with the Kyuubi inhabitant was bare.

Wincing and shivering at the icy touch of the blade and the finger--as the metal to his back had grown to not be as painful, because it had become a constant--he bit down on his lower lip, eyes shut tightly.

"Don't like that?" the man asked, pressing his thumb roughly into Naruto's belly button before ripping it out, making a couple little cuts with slightly-pointed fingernail tips.

"Stop it," he growled, lashing out with his head in an attempt to bite the older man, though it failed.

"Hmn... No, how about that? Oh, but don't feel so threatened... I still must prolong your body and preserve your life for my personal entertainment."

"You sick, fucked-up--"

"Now, now... What would your parents say if they heard you talking like that? My, my, tsk, tsk..."

"I don't have parents, dumbass..."

"Oh, oh, that's right..." the man whispered, his voice a mocking tone. "Well, I'm sure you used to, but that must have been so long ago. Before you had that Kyuubi implanted within you, that is... After that, they probably shunned you... They might even still be alive, but refuse to acknowledge you as their son..."

"Shut up... I know that they died a long time ago... I never knew them, so I don't care. It has no effect--"

"But, my Naruto-kun, don't you so often wonder what it would be like to have a family, one with a mother and father who love and adore you for you who are? That don't care about the Kyuubi, or how others treat you? Or at least some sort of parent?"

Naruto remained silent. His head was down, bangs hiding his face and shadowing it, eyes closed and teeth deep in his bottom lip. He had to keep his eyes closed, or they'd start stinging worse, and hurt like hell.

"I'll take that as a yes, then?"

"..."

"I adore your silence, truly I do..." He moved to the right, pointing with his left index finger at an object. A sword was laying on a table that he pointed to, the only sheath for it being randomly-placed bandages, tight yet not ripping against the blade. Naruto looked up, staring at the sword.

"That's the sword..."

"That bears its own chakra, yes... That weapon is meant for your use. With your intense level of chakra, and that of the Kyuubi's, you can wield that sword like no one else. You wouldn't even need to seal off the chakra vents; it wouldn't steal your energy, it would share with you its own."

"... You're asking me to take this sword... and you want me to kill someone with it, don't you?"

"Yes, I am... You will be stronger than anyone else in your village. The strongest... Your power will surpass that of any Kage before you... and be greater than any that might come after you... And, there's one more thing... With that sword, you'll have parents again... Me and my wife. We will adopt you as our own blood son."

Naruto looked at the man, a little bit of fear in his expression. He knew better than this... He knew not to do this... That sword was so strong, though... And to become an instant Hokage... and the strongest... And...

"Well, Naruto-kun...? Will you agree to these terms, take this sword, become the official son of two extremely powerful, S-class shinobi, and become not only an S-class shinobi, but take the life of only one person, and become Kage of Konohagakure?"

"I..." His voice was nothing but a faint whisper. "I..."

"I'm not so sure about this..."

"Sakura-chan, don't worry, alright?" Sasuke looked behind him, over his shoulder, staring at the girl hidden behind the mask. "We're already here... Let's hurry up with this..." He pulled out a tag from under his mask, which had been curled up and put in in a way that he could only take it out in a straight way. As he drew it out, he slit his thumb on a small metal object that was part of his outfit, on the side of his mask, running the finger so the blood ran along the scroll. He lashed out the scroll, letting go so it stuck to a nearby house, then exploded. "Go."

Sakura jumped down, using her excellent chakra control to manipulate the way she moved along the ground. Sasuke followed behind her, but they both stopped quickly, frozen in place. They'd hit the right house, they'd correctly located their target, and he was staring them down in the eyes.

But it was no longer Naruto which they were facing...

"We should have sent a third person with them..."

"Sakura is excellent in her ability of chakra control and in medical ninjitsu. Those two are S-class ANBU, so we shouldn't worry... Kakashi, you really shouldn't be so worried."

Lifting his shoulders then dropping them in a shrug, the man simply stood. "I'll go after them, now."

"Don't... And that's an order. You are to stay here... We do not need to send anyone else after them. They will be fine, Kakashi. Why won't you stop worrying?"

"I'm not worried, Tsunade-sama. Not at all. A little frustrated, maybe, at the conditions they are fighting for and with, and that the target happens to be their teammate who is wielding a sword that has already nearly killed one of the two, and that is--"

"Okay, fine, just... Be quiet now. If you're not worried, stop listing the reasons as to why you're annoyed."

"So, are you sending me after them?"

"No... I'll send someone else." stated the Hokage simply, crossing her arms over her chest.

Kakashi, raising an eyebrow of his right eye, watched her carefully. "And just who would that be, then?"

"Uhm..." She looked to the side, biting into her bottom lip just a bit.

"You... don't know, do you?"

"Look, give me ten minutes; I'll figure something out..."

"Liar..." he muttered, glaring at her slightly.

"Go away. I'm busy contemplating... And don't pursue your team, Kakashi..."

"So you're not sending anyone after them... are you?"

A few seconds later the woman grinned. "I know just who to send, don't you worry."

"Oh? Who?" He crossed his arms over his stomach.

"Heh, best I didn't tell you. Go do something else, now. Besides going after them!" she said, having to remind him of the last part. If she didn't, he'd argue that she hadn't specified. He disappeared with a jutsu, leaving her to sit in her desk, staring down at a paper in her hands. She sighed, frowning. There had ben a contest where if you guessed the right five letters in correct order, you'd win a large amount of money. It wasn't like a lottery, more like just a random activity hosted by one of the many shinobi of the village. The piece of paper in her hands read 'xiaks.' And the paper that told the week's letters, read 'xiaks.'

"This... is definitely a bad sign..." she whispered, shaking her head and hiding the paper under the book, closing her eyes and resting her head against crossed arms on her desk. "A very bad sign..."

With a sigh, the woman stood up, slowly making her way from her room, the building, then down a street, heading straight towards the memorial stone. Once there, she just stood, staring down at it, then sighed. Behind her, a shorter boy had appeared, watching her. Without turning, she'd already known who it was.

"Konohamaru, good to see you. Just the person I was going to go find shortly."

"Oh... Why would you need to see me, Hokage-sama?" the younger one asked, probably only around thirteen or so years old. He grinned. "Am I really that special?"

"No, its not that... I have an urgent mission for you. However... you're the only one needed. You're still just a Genin, though, so I'll have to send a Jonin with you, since its an A-class. So, before I do, any favorites?"

"Kakashi-sensei!" he yelled out, right as he heard it. He grinned, sticking his hands in his pockets.

The woman frowned, turning to face him. "I already told Kakashi that I wouldn't send him... so that's not really a good choice. Why Kakashi?"

"Kakashi-sensei is the one who taught Naruto-sempai!" he pouted, crossing his arms quickly over his chest. "I'd love going somewhere cool with him... And... if its an A-class mission, how could a Genin like myself be allowed to go on such a mission?"

"Naruto-kun only recently became a Chunin, though he's been in the ANBU for an extremely long time... You want to be like Naruto-kun, who's been going on A-class missions since he was your age, only a few days after he graduated?"

"Yeah! Of course! Alright, I'll accept the mission!"

"So which Jonin do you want to come with you?"

"Kakashi-sensei!"

"I already told you no!" she yelled, twitching a bit.

"B-but..." He whimpered somewhat, sticking out his bottom lip and frowning.

"Konohamaru, you're thirteen; don't act like such a baby. You should know that such actions are-"

"I know, I know..." Moving his shoulders only enough to barely shrug, the boy sighed. "What about... Uhm... What about Neji-sempai?" he asked, tilting his head a tilt to the side.

"You sure?"

"Yeah..." He grinned.

"Alright, I'll have him sent for. Pack up supplies... The length should be around a week, and you will encounter enemies, so prepare thuswise. I'm hoping you've been taught proper preparation?"

"Of course. I'll see you...?"

"Find me in the mission room in exactly one hour."

"Alright, see you then, Tsunade-dono!" he cried, turning around and running off, then jumping off through the trees, grinning. Where she was left, Tsunade turned around, kneeling next to the stone and touching two of the most important names on that list to her.

"Dan, Nawaki... I still miss you two, and I'll never not miss the either of you... I love you both..." Gently bringing the tips of her two fingers of her left hand to her lips, then placing her index first against her younger brother's name, over the engraving, then her middle along her once lover's name, she stood up. "I'm sending a boy only about as old as you, Nawaki, on an A-class mission... He's with a Jonin, and they're both going after someone very important... I know, I'm probably an idiot for sending a thirteen-year-old out on such a dangerous mission, that might even end up being S-class... However... The one they are bringing back is who I gave the necklace to, now... You know, the one I gave the both of you..." She frowned, closing her eyes, scenes playing through her mind like that of a movie.

"The one I'm having them bring back is the one who carries on the dreams of the both of you. After I die, he will succeed me, thus becoming the Sixth Hokage... And when he does, he'll become the greatest Hokage... I'm worried, for both the boys, though... Sure, they're both strong, and their favorite techniques happen to be two forbidden techniques... Of course, the younger one was taught by the older one... Heh... Sound familiar, Nawaki? Yeah, maybe... But, I promise you... I won't let either of them die... Because they both share the same dream as well, just as the two of you did... Konohamaru because of his grandfather, because of his family ties... And Naruto-kun because of the lack of family ties, because of the Kyuubi, and to get acknowledged more than ever before... We all acknowledge him now, but... When he becomes Hokage, it won't just be the whole village..."

Slowly, she stood up, wiping under her eyes with the sleeve of her shirt, then heading straight back to the mission room. She had Neji sent for, and within moments he was there, staring at her.

"Hyüga Neji, you have been sent for because I am being forced to send a young Genin--Konohamaru--on an A-class mission, possibly even an S-class mission... Since I already refused to allow Kakashi to do such a task, I had him pick someone. That would be you." She stared at him blankly, to be responded to with a nod. "And, thus, it is you who will go with him. Only the two of you, because there are already two others--both ANBU members--sent out. Your mission is to safely take Konohamaru to the location of the two others and have him aid in the capture and retrieval of the nukenin Uzumaki Naruto. You have been informed of his actions, I take it..."

"Yes, I have, Tsunade-dono. I understand the aspects of my mission fully."

"Also... The two and the nukenin are all Chunin ANBU, so just because of their rank do not underestimate any of them... As well, on the same note, do not underestimate Konohamaru. He's the one that has to fight, so, as a Jonin, I would like for you to make sure that he is properly equipped before going on the mission. No sword, of course. Make sure he's prepared, though. Alright, he's here." She smiled at the younger one coming in the door. "Konohamaru, hey there. Ready to go on the mission?"

The boy looked up, nodding. "Yes, ma'am."

"Good. Your mission is simple."

"Question..." He frowned, standing next to Neji. "Why couldn't Naruto-sempai do this instead of me?"

"Answer. Because he has become a nukenin, and you are going to be retrieving him." She smiled.


	5. Departure

"That... that's Naruto?"

"No, that can't be Naruto..." Sakura whispered, taking a step back, nearly falling off the tree but catching herself, landing on the ground on one foot. Sasuke followed her, both staring at what was once their comrade. "That weapon... Naruto wouldn't be able to hold it. Only Hinata-chan and Neji-kun can touch it with their Jukens... And... He..." She cringed, seeing Naruto covered in blood, standing there with the hilt of the sword in his hand, the tip touching the ground with blood sliding down its blade. "He wouldn't..."

The blonde looked up, staring at them with newly-found apathy within the darkened sapphire eyes. Sasuke felt himself twitch, and shake a bit, but look away. He couldn't stand seeing him like this... He felt his stomach lurching, as if he were going to throw up or something. His left hand quickly pressed against his stomach, as if applying pressure to it would help, though it didn't at all.

"It was Naruto-kun..." he breathed, his throat starting to sting. Bringing one hand up, he coughed against it, looking at Sakura seriously. "Now this being is just the dangerous nukenin that threatens our lives..." He looked down, unable to even register in his mind that he'd said that. He knew he did, though.

"Sasuke-kun..." She looked at him for a second, than over at Naruto, who was just staring at them hatefully. She nodded. "Yes, you're right." Through the small holes in her mask, she thought she could see Sasuke trembling, but she knew better--or thought she did, because he was. She turned, facing Naruto, unsheathing her sword and pointing it at the blonde ninja. "Naruto Uzumaki of the Hidden Leaf Village of Fire, you are to come with us without hesitation or refusal. Drop your weapon and surrender yourself to us."

Sasuke unsheathed his sword, holding in it in his left hand, still trembling slightly though he didn't let it show. He stared at Naruto through the small holes in his own red and white mask, though his vision was blurred. Under the mask, he tried to deny it but he knew his eyes were damp.

Naruto looked over to Sasuke, staring straight at him, into the dark eye holes of the mask. His face was stained with blood, and--tears? Sasuke noticed Naruto looked like he had been crying. He took a step towards the blonde, but pain suddenly shot through his body and his old injury, the one he'd gotten from the very sword that his prior teammate was holding.

Naruto looked down, gripping the sword tighter.

"Drop the sword!" Sakura ordered, advancing three paces with her own sword pointed at him. She stopped, glaring from Naruto to the blade within his hand.

"No." the blonde whispered, biting into his lower lip so that it bled and the blood trickled down his chin.

"Then we will have to force you." she stated, frowning behind the ANBU regulated masks. She brought one hand to her face, closing her eyes, concentrating her chakra to the hand, then charging out, sword in one hand, chakra-powered arm free with a fisted hand. She lunged at Naruto, swinging her arm, but he jumped, landing in a tree above her, staring down. He raised the thin, dangerous sword, which glowed with a similar red chakra; the same type that came out when he released his Kyuubi.

Sasuke was practically frozen in place, but when he saw the sword--pointed directly at Sakura--he growled. Jumping, he kicked off a tree, slashing his own blade at Naruto. The blades met, the two on the bottom side of the branch, their second-nature chakra abilities keeping them there, upside-down. Pressing hard, as did Naruto, the Uchiha glared past the mask edge and into the blonde's eyes.

This isn't him, not anymore; this isn't Naruto-kun... He was trying to keep reminding himself of it, though it wasn't working very well. The familiar light-blue eyes--even shadowed as they were with apathy--the blonde hair and the little whisker-like birthmarks...

"Naruto-kun, stop this!" he yelled, pushing his sword to the side so that both of the weapons fell, landing crossed with their tips in the ground, hilts touching. Before both hands even left the hilt, one of Sasuke's reached forward in an attempt to grab the other male, though it failed. He was pushed over the edge, Sasuke, and landing on his back, not able to even grasp what the hell was going on. Quickly, he found himself standing, his eyes feeling even more wet than before, running at Naruto.

Sakura touched her head, watching the two with a sudden headache. She looked around, spotting someone watching from the bushes. As soon as the man saw her glaring at him, he disappeared. She tried to run after her, but his technique was faster than her own, and she lost him.

The Uchiha lunged forward again at Naruto, then missed, landing with his back to a tree. Naruto had gotten the sword back in hand, and Sasuke hadn't even gotten his own. As the blonde pulled out the chakra-devouring sword, he also took up Sasuke's in his left hand, twirling them for a second before staring over towards Sasuke, slashing at him in an X-pattern. The ebony-haired boy jumped to the side, avoiding it so little that his outfit got cut on the side of his arm, though he didn't bleed or anything. Landing perfectly, he reached out his hand, charging his special technique--Chidori.

At the same exact time that Sasuke charged his Chidori, Naruto dropped the two blades and formed his Rasengan, staring at Sasuke with those blood- and tear-stained eyes that were still shadowed by apathy. Both raced forward, as Sakura watched from nearby, colliding with their two attacks combining into a humongous energy, their hands mere centimeters apart. The trees nearby literally blew apart and sort of ripped apart, the huge energy circling the two powerful shinobi.

The attacks, for a split second, seemed to become one, though before Sasuke or Naruto could fully realize it they were both yards apart, laying on the grass and bleeding badly from many spots in their body. Even with his injury reopened, the first thing Sasuke did was jump up, running over to Naruto, who's eyes were only half open and staring up straight at the sky. He knelt next to the blonde, hands on his shoulders.

At the sight of the ANBU, Naruto reached up, pulling the mask off slowly, revealing the horrified face of his friend, through his blurred vision, who was... crying. Sasuke, crying. And looking worried to death.

Even with that blurred vision, he could feel a few tear drops falling from the what had almost been inside of the mask that must had been there before, onto his face, as his eyes closed and his whole world went black. He thought he heard his name being yelled out, called out, by that familiar voice, but he figured he was just kidding himself.

Neji stared down at the group below him, frowning a bit. "It seems that you were able to capture him without and difficulty, then?" Konohamaru was next to him, staring down at Sasuke who was knelt over Naruto's body. Sakura nodded, looking from the one she was kneeling next to the other two.

"Yes, we were. We are not killing him, instead bringing him back to the village. Please use your abilities to hold the sword, if you would."

"Alright," Neji nodded, jumping down and landing on both knees, pressing his hands against the whole blade and hilt of the sword, closing off the chakra vents quickly. He slid it under his sash, staring over at Konohamaru who was now also next to the blonde, unconscious ninja that bled profusely.

"Naruto-sempai," he muttered, touching Naruto's shoulder, but Sasuke literally hit his hand away. Sakura still had her ANBU regulated mask on, but the younger shinobi noticed that Naruto was holding Sasuke's, and that Sasuke didn't seem to care to get it back; he was just watching as Sakura used healing techniques on the blonde ninja, but they weren't working well. She looked up at him, frowning.

"Let's hurry and get him back to the village," Neji said from behind them, one hand on the hilt of the sword. Konohamaru looked down at Naruto, frowning deeply. Sasuke reached down, picking up the blonde shinobi, one arm under the other's legs, one around Naruto's shoulders. Pulling the slightly younger one's body against his, he stood up, frowning down at him.

Sakura nodded. "Yeah, let's go."

Konohamaru looked around, frowning, then over to Neji, finally nodding. "Right."

Sasuke stood next to the bed, the door behind him disconnecting him from Sakura, Neji and Konohamaru, who were all worried, though Tsunade insisted they stayed out there. Sasuke had agreed with them, quickly. Naruto was laying on the bed, blood-stained bandages on his chest, around both shoulders, wrists, ankles, calves and thighs. No blanket there, either, and he was only in those silky, white boxers he wore, though in the corner there was some chakra-powered heater since it was getting late, and since it was going to be cold even with the window closed. There were small, circular sticky plastic objects against the blonde shinobi's flesh, and a clear, plastic mask over his mouth to regulate his breathing. An IV was in his right wrist, three hooks on a metal nearby pole each holding three different things--one with water, one with purple, thin liquid, and one with a thick, orange liquid. The water split halfway down into two tubes, one mixing with the green liquid right before going into the blonde's flesh, and the other went straight into his bloodstream. The orange liquid did not ever mix with the water, at least not outside Naruto's body.

He was standing, and refused to let himself sit. His body ached and all, though he'd just been bandaged and told to rest. He'd only agreed to the bandaged portion, of course. He reached out one hand, sliding the finger against Naruto's cheek, frowning. The blonde still had Sasuke's ANBU mask clutched tightly within his fingers. Sasuke made no attempt to take it away, either, and just kept staring at the blonde.

He was listening carefully and closely to the little noises the machine nearby made, which told the blonde's heartbeat. Grateful it was at a steady pace, he finally sighed, kneeling down on the cushion next to Naruto's bed, his arms crossed on the side of the futon. His eyes slowly closed, as he tried to breath slowly and regulate him thoughts that flooded every single little, tiny section of his mind.

"Sasuke-kun..."

He looked up suddenly, his body jerking up, his heart beating quicker for a second. His eyes met Naruto's soft, gentle sapphire ones, which were staring at him sadly. He bit into his bottom lip, standing up slowly.

"Naruto-kun, I--"

"I'm so sorry," the blonde suddenly interrupted, breathing out his apology, looking at him with a terrified expressoin. Tears were welling up on the sides of his eyes. "Sasuke-kun, I really am! Please, I'm scarred at what they're going to do to me..." He sniffed, sitting up slowly and pulling his pillow to in front of his face, crying into it.

"Naruto-kun, you shouldn't worry about stuff like that, really. What's important, right now, is that you're safe and alive." He sat next to the blonde, though facing him, one leg out the other crossed under the left. He looked straight into the other's eyes. Sasuke was still in the bottom half of his ANBU black outfit, though the top was off because of his having to get bandaged and all. He was bare-footed, with his shoes in the corner of the room on a cement section.

"I stole that damned sword! I attack and fought at least two shinobi of our village! One was you, even, and I'd bet the other was Sakura..." He layed down, slowly, looking up at Sasuke. Slowly, he raised the mask, pressing it against Sasuke's face. The Uchiha didn't move, just stared through the holes at the blonde ninja. "I remember seeing you and everything... I'm sorry, I really am, I mean it... They're going to kill me now..." His fingers left the mask, which--for a second--stayed on Sasuke's face.

The Uchiha reached up, carefully pulling the mask off and setting it down on the edge of the bed, looking at him. "No, no, they won't kill you. I swear, I promise."

"You don't understand, Sasuke... The severity of what I did... I killed someone, I really did."

Sasuke twitched, staring at Naruto, who was beginning to cry again into the pillow.

"I killed someone from our village, Sasuke. They won't just let me live for it, either. I killed him, I killed him..." He held his head, starting to shake violently, his head hidden within the pillow. "I really, really killed him!"

"Naruto-kun," the Uchiha whispered, resting a hand on the other male's shoulder, frowning deeper.

"I killed Iruka-sensei, I killed him, I killed him..." He was trembling even worse, rocking back and fourth on his side, crying deeply. "I really killed him..."

Sasuke shook his head, frowning. Iruka. That was their academy sensei. He put both hands on Naruto's shoulders, now, pulling him a bit closer, resting the blonde's head on his shoulder. "Shhh..."

He's upset, he needs comforting. He'll let anyone comfort him, even you. Yeah, even you...

"Naruto-ku-"

"Sasuke, I... What are you..." He looked up at him for a second, then to the side, wincing. His body ached like hell. "I..." His tears had stopped, though they still had stained his face.

Yeah, right. Like he'd ever wany you to comfort him... It sickens him, the idea, you know. You know that...

Sasuke loosened his grip, looking away, hiding his frown from the blonde. "I...I'll go now... But... stop crying, alright? I mean, everyone has to kill eventually. They won't kill you for it." He stood up, picking up his shoes near the door before exiting through it. He didn't even remember to bring his mask with him.

Naruto just watched after him, a sort of confused look on his face. When the door closed, leaving him alone in the dark room, nearly naked and without any blankets. Though the heat in the corner felt really good, he felt horrible. He stared down at his lap, feeling the cold sting of the tears against his cheeks.

"Sasuke-kun... just tried to..." He wrapped his arms around himself, closing his eyes tightly. "And you... You were so stupid, so afraid, and... So..." He fell backwards on his bed, crying into the pillow that was against his face once more. "You idiot..." he whispered, hatefully at himself. "You complete idiot..."

It took him an hour to calm down, and when he finally did he'd turned off all the machines, ripping everything that was connected to his body that wasn't bandages or clothes off. He stood in front of the window, staring out it with one hand gently on it, frowning. The room was quite warm now. He sighed deeply, inwardly chiding himself for being so stupid. He hated how bad he felt, and how he'd reacted to Sasuke's actions.

Slowly, he pushed open the glass window frames, pulling himself up to kneel on the window and stare out at the night. He could see the lights of some places were on, and was staring at one in particular. Slowly, carefully, he stood up, jumping down, landing on the roof of a lower building quietly. He'd picked up Sasuke's ANBU mask, before leaving the room, and held it in two fingers tightly. Quickly, he made his way back to his own home, though once he was at the door, he stopped.

His hand was on the doorknob, and he had it open. He took a slow, careful step in, staring around the interior. It felt strange, and all. He felt out of place, as if he hadn't been there for a few days, and was used to the feel of other places so much that his own felt strange. Though it felt safe, for sure. To him, at least.

He closed the door behind him, looking around, flipping on the light and leaning his back against the door. His eyes scanned around the area, before they rested on his cabinet that was open. Slowly, he made his way over towards the cabinet, pulling out a foam cup and ripping the top off. He put some water to boil, and poured the water into the foam cup after it had finished boiling. He rummaged through a drawer until he found some clean chopsticks, and knelt down on a cushion near a short, small table in the corner, leaning against it and staring at the ramen in front of him that was heating up. He knew to wait three minutes, and he was feeling like if he even waited that long that he wouldn't feel like eating. He laid his head down, closing his eyes, sighing.

Naruto felt himself drifting off into sleep, and quickly sat up. He looked over at his clock, which showed it was actually five minutes later than he'd remembered. He picked up the cup of ramen, discarding the top, and his chopsticks, stirring it around a bit. Bringing a small clump of the noodles held between the two sticks, he bit down, and just quickly ate it. He really didn't feel hungry.

For a few minutes, he just sat there, staring down at the ramen, before tossing it into the sink, with the chopsticks, and heading towards his room. Wearing nothing but bandages and boxers made him pretty cold, so he went to his closet, going through it and pulling on soft, black, silky pants and taking a white jacket and sliding into it. He decided against wearing any form of shoes, and simply made his way to his door, exiting into the cold of the night, shivering a bit and hugging the jacket against his body. Carefully, Naruto looked around him, making sure no one was there, before jumping onto the roof of his house, starting towards another's house, jumping silently from roof to roof. It was really cold out, but it was late and that wasn't too surprising.

He finally stopped, standing in front of a door, his left hand in a loose fist--as it hurt far too much to form a real fist--only an inch away from the door. He gulped, looking down at his face.

"Tell him..." he whispered, shaking a bit. "Say sorry, and... It can't be that hard..." His voice was so inaudible he could barely hear himself saying it. His fist beat twice upon the outside of the door.

His arm fell to hung at his side after he heard the beats going through his own ears. He stared, and after a second he was staring at his teammate, who looked surprised to see him. Probably more so because he was in nothing but a towel, using a second, smaller one to dry his hair.

"Uhm, Naruto-kun," He sort of twitched, then shivered by the cold air against his near-naked body. He ushered the blonde in, who complied, and quickly closed the door. "Uhm, something I can do for you...?" He leaned against a wall, the skirt-like towel around his hips tight and pretty wet. It was really warm inside, and the both were probably grateful for it. Sasuke continued to rub his hair dry with the smaller towel.

Naruto pulled his jacket off, sitting in a chair and hugging the towel to his chest, staring down at it, frowning. "I'm... I'm really sorry about earlier, Sasuke-kun... I was..."

"Oh, uh, no! No, don't be sorry... It was reasonable and understandable... I probably shouldn't have done that..." He looked away, hiding the majority of his face with the towel. "I should be the one apologizing, really."

"Please, don't... Listen, Sasuke-kun, I swear, I really did kill him, though they won't tell anyone I killed Iruka-sensei... They'll say he's on missions or something, I think... I'm really scarred, though; if they keep his death a secret, then I don't know what they'll do with me, for being the one who killed him... They're probably going to track me down..." He pulled his hands to his face, whimpering a bit. "I can't tell Sakura-chan; she's Tsunade-dono's pupil, and all, and she'll end up having to tell, since she's always around Hokage-sama... They're going to track me down and kill me." Naruto couldn't bring himself to look up at Sasuke.

"Please try to calm down. I'm sure they wouldn't do something like that... You're too powerful, too much of an asset, to our village for them to do that..."

"That's why they'd do it!" he suddenly cried out, pulling his knees to his face. "Because of my strength..."

"Naruto-kun..." He sighed, walking over to the other and just putting a hand on his head, before removing it and dissapearing behind a curtain. The towels were both on the floor behind the curtain, where Sasuke was getting dressed. "Really, they... I'm sure they wouldn't. Not to you. Tsunade-dono knows you, she gave you that necklace, right? She trusts you, and I'm sure with the situation and all..."

Naruto looked over at the curtain. He sort of twitched, picturing Sasuke naked behind the thin, white veil, then looked away, his face feeling a bit warmer than usual. "I guess, but... still..."

The Uchiha came out mere seconds later, in black, loose shorts and a white sleeveless shirt. He pulled a chair in front of Naruto's, sitting cross-legged on it, watching the blonde. He sighed. "Naruto-kun, I really doubt Tsunada-dono, of all people, would allow you to be killed."

The blonde nodded, looking over directly at the Uchiha. "Whatever you say, I still think..." He shook his head. "I'm probably being such a bother, sorry, Sasuke-kun... I should shut up now..." He closed his eyes, hiding his face again against his knees. "I probably shouldn't have even come over..."

"Is that why you came over, though? To talk to me about that?"

"I... No, it was to apologize for how I reacted earlier in the hospital about an hour ago, or however long it was, to what you did... I really should have thought before I said that... Sorry..."

"No, no, it's quite alright. Honestly, really, Naruto-kun." He smiled, sort of, then stood up, walking over to the futon in a corner, drapped in dark grays, navys and blacks with a blood-red single pillow. "Its late... If you want, you can always stay in here, you know, if you want." He slid under the blankets, laying on his side, facing the blonde shinobi.

"I... wouldn't want to be a pest. I really should go..." He shook his head, frowning, looking away sadly.

"Its really no bother." He sat up quickly, sliding from the bed and going over to a closet, rummaging through it. He pulled out two blankets and a pillow, shutting the door with his foot and walking over to a mat that was on the floor near his own bed, which was puffy and extremely soft. He set the blankets down, throwing a pillow to the top area and laying out the blankets quickly so that they'd be easy to curl under and all.

Naruto watched him, not feeling like arguing. He didn't feel well, and was pretty tired and all, and his wounds hurt like hell. He felt a lot safer here, too, strangely more so than he did at home. Like his home had danger lurking there, or something. "Thanks..." he finally said, going towards Sasuke's bed where next to it the temporary, comfortable-looking area was. He sat down, watching Sasuke climb back into his own bed, before laying down. It was really comfortable. Sasuke turned out a light, but a heater in the corner glowed a soft red so that it was completely dark. "Goodnight, Sasuke-kun..." He pulled the blankets over his shoulders, curling up a bit and closing his eyes tightly.

"'Night, Naruto-kun." Sasuke pulled a thin blanket over his body. He was facing where Naruto was, watching the back that faced him. He lost track of time, and after awhile, the blonde turned around, looking adorable, so his back was away to Sasuke. The Uchiha grinned a bit, before closing his eyes, attempting something towards sleep.

"Tsunade-sensei, Naruto-kun's not in his room!"

Tsunade looked up from her papers to the pink-clothed young woman who stood in front of her desk. "Sakura... You're sure?" She stood up, following quickly after her apprentice. "This is very serious, you know..."

Sakura nodded, opening the door to reveal the area with the slightly-ajar windows. "I looked at his house, the memorial stone, and all his favorite places. Asked around. No one's seen him..."

"This isn't good. He's dangerous... Sakura, don't take this the wrong way, because he's your teammate and all, but we have to have him hunted down. You and Sasuke-kun already did a mission similar to this, however I am going to send out you and Kakashi. He, his body, and anything else that might have to do with him are to be completely destroyed, understand? If he goes after that sword again, and can get it, he might kill us all. He's already killed Iruka."

Sakura gasped, pulling her hands to her face, frowning heavily. "Obliterate him? I... Yes, Hokage-sama. I will go inform Kakashi-sensei and we'll get on it right away." She disappeared, practically, using her jutsu.

Tsunade frowned, closing her eyes, her voice an inaudible whisper. "Naruto-kun... You've done this, again? That necklace that I'd given you years ago, four years ago, is so dear to me. It is dear to me that you own it and use your strength wisely... I'm sorry I've had to order this, but as Hokage... I'm so sorry, Naruto-kun..." She headed back to her room, slumping down in her chair once she was there. She let a long, displeased sigh, then closed her eyes. "Oh, damn it... This has to have been the worst week of my life, the absolute worst..."

Sakura stood next to Kakashi, walking with him. As usual, he had a book in hand, and was reading it. He stopped, hiding it within his vest, looking down at her and giving a nod. "Alright, so that's what Tsunade said eh? Then we should hurry up and go. No time to waist. We'll search his house, and ask around again. Its still really early, though, only around eight. Sun's barely even out."

"Alright, let's go." They both sped off, stopping once they were inside Naruto's house, after opening the unlocked door. They looked around, seeing how messy it was inside. Kakashi examined all throughout Naruto's room--in the closet and even under the damn futon--and, of course, failed. Sakura ended up exploring the rest of the house, but nothing came up other than proof that he had been there that night--there were some bandages that had a bit of fresh blood on them that she remembered putting on Naruto just the day previously.

"Alright, no clues at all here. You've already asked around, right? Nobody had seen him. Honestly, that doesn't surprise me..." He put one hand to the half of his face that was veiled by some sort of black cloth. "I don't know what we do now but try and track him down. Ask the other seven. Have you talked to Sasuke?"

"No, I checked his favorite places and everything, though. He hates Sasuke-kun, so I didn't ask him yet... I'll go ask him now."

"No, I'll do that. You go ask the other seven."

"Alright," he said, nodding, then disappearing. She disappeared, too.

Sasuke stood up straight, staring still down at the sleeping form of his teammate who was curled up in an adorable ball, hugging the pillow to his chest. He smiled a bit, then turned around, jumping a bit when he heard a knocking on his door. He sighed, muttering something, then quickly went over to the door. Luckily, Naruto, behind him, hadn't woken up yet. Damn, he looked adorable, and Sasuke was thinking about it. His face felt a little hot, so before opening the door he shook thoughts out of his head. He pulled in the door, staring at Kakashi.

"Kakashi-sensei... What is it?" He stepped aside, so his instructor could come in. Which he did. Kakashi looked straight over, seeing Naruto curled up like that nearby Sasuke's bed.

"Hmn, so this is where he came? Or did you get him to come?" Kakashi arched the one eye that was visible, staring at Sasuke.

"He came over around eleven and all. He just said he didn't feel safe at his own house after what happened." It was only half a lie; he was sure that's probably how it was, but he wasn't sure. It was a guess, and a good one. "So I let him sleep here... What?"

"Oh, well Sakura and I have been pretty worried. Sasuke, actually, there's a problem. Its been ordered that he is to be destroyed, because of everything. I'll have to take him, now, Sasuke, into custody for the ANBU to dispose of him." He took a step forward, but Sasuke suddenly grabbed his arm.

Kakashi was silent for a second, then finally spoke. "You're trembling..."

"Kakashi-sensei," He looked up, suddenly, half glaring, half attempting to hide sadness and fear. "I don't believe I'm able to accept this."

"Well, Sasuke, you really have absolutely no say in the matter. It is a direct order by Tsunade-dono."

"I refuse this order." He glared up at the gray-haired man. "Now, do please leave my house, Kakashi-sensei. I have a guest who hasn't slept in a log time." Sasuke was sort of pushing him away, now.

Kakashi turned around, starting to leave. "Bring him to me later. I know you don't want to, but you have to or the both of you will be killed. Sasuke, when he's awake, bring him to Tsunade's office." He didn't even wait for a response before leaving through the door.

The Uchiha looked over his shoulder, seeing Naruto who was still asleep. He walked over to the other male, kneeling next to him, reaching out and touching his cheek tenderly with the tip of his finger. He was trembling, so he quickly had to retract his hand and just sat down so his knees wouldn't fall asleep; criss-cross style. Sasuke, giving a light sigh, stood again, grabbing a bookbag and starting to pack it. He filled whatever he could with some weapons and such, a thin blanket and a first aid kit. Then, he got two outfits--both of them with white, long pants and sleeveless white shirts with black belts and black bandanas. He picked up his forehead protector, the steel-plated headband with the symbol of the village on it, and folded it so that the metal plate was hidden, then hid it within the bag. He walked over to Naruto, taking off the blonde's forehead protector while not waking him up, and doing the same, only he tied it in a different way to distinguish between the two. His had a lot of scrapes and such, unlike Naruto's, so that would probably work, too.

He was staring at himself in the mirror of his bathroom, frowning. Cold water was pouring from the faucet, and his hands were under it. They moved up, after collecting water, and splashed the clear liquid onto his face. He rubbed it into his eyes and all over his head before turning off the faucet, getting a hand-towel and rubbing his face dry with it. He took a few slow, deep breaths, leaning back a bit and staring at his reflection after he finished drying it off.

"Damn it," he whispered, closing his eyes tightly. Reopening them, he walked over to a drawer, opening it. From it, he pulled out the two weapons he'd gotten for a get-well present not long prior, and put them carefully in a small, unused section of his bookbag on the inside. Above the drawer, on the table top, was the book Naruto had given him, and next to it, the picture of Ino and Sakura. He smirked a bit, touching it. He figured the two were a lot like Naruto and himself; they were, in a way, friends, but they were rivals, as well. Driving each other to do better, to attempt to become better than the other. And each was exceptionably strong.

Only... the relationship between those two is a lot different from ours...

Sasuke looked over at Naruto, feeling a tug of anxiety in his chest. He suddenly flinched when he heard a light knocking at his door. He walked over to the door, but when his hand rested on the door knob, he stopped, feeling restless. Slowly, he turned it, opening it. He saw Sakura, who was looking around quickly. She pushed passed him, urging him quietly to quickly close the door. She had a her backpack on her back, which she set down. He half glared at her, hating the sight of her for some reason. She was the disciple of Tsunade, so she'd follow the orders of not only her Hokage but her Sensei.

"What are you doing here?" he asked, a bit spitefully, locking the door.

"Sasuke-kun, you know that Tsunade-sensei is, well, just that. She is our Hokage, too. However... you two are my teammates and I worry greatly about you. It devastated me to hear what her plan was for Naruto-kun. Please, understand and believe me when I say I don't want to carry out her orders. We are all Chunin, considered as A-rank shinobi of Konohagakure. As a shinobi of that level, I would be obliged to follow all orders given by the Hokage. However, as your teammate, I am obliged to disobey. Its just like Kakashi-sensei said... 'In the world of the shinobi, those who violate the rules and laws are considered trash. However, those that would abandon their comrades are worse than trash.' I may be trash, but I'll be damned if I'm worse than trash!"

He stared at her for a silent moment, her eyes meeting his before trailing off to look over at Naruto.

"Sasuke-kun, you can understand, right? I want to help you, in some way."

"How do you think you can help, then, huh?" He walked over to his bag, going through another drawer and sliding explosion tags and a chain-linked kunais in another part of his bag that was meant for weapon holding. He sighed.

"I... I am a medical nin, Sasuke-kun. I... I know what you're planning to do, and-"

"You can't come with us. That will put you on the tracker's list, as well, Sakura-chan." He looked over at her for a second, then back to Naruto.

"I know that, really I do! Honestly, I don't care... I'd rather have that than let them do such a thing to Naruto. And to you, too, Sasuke-kun..."

"You can't come with us." He zipped up his bag, and buckled whatever needed it, before taking the bag on his back and standing above Naruto. "Naruto-kun, wake up." He prodded the blonde's side gently with his foot.

"I'm coming whether you want me to or not." She pulled her book bag on her back, crossing her arms.

"Fine, but stay out of our way. Naruto!"

Naruto suddenly jumped up, looking around, in nothing but the soft, loose pants. He stared at Sasuke for a minute, then at Sakura. "Uhm, good morning... Is there a mission or something, why we're all three here?"

"Something like that. Get your jacket on and get dressed. There's a pair of your clothes in the bathroom. Might want to hurry up, too." Sasuke slid his fingers into the pockets of his pants.

"You have a pair of my clothes here?" He twitched, sort of backing away.

"I got them last night when I learned of the mission, since there's no time. Hurry up."

"Oh, alright, Sasuke-kun." He looked over at Sakura, who was silent, before turning and starting for the bathroom. He came out a few minutes later, in his normal clothes, with the pants in one hand. Sasuke signaled for him to just drop them somewhere, so he did. "So, what's the mission?" He zipped up the front of his jacket, moving the collar around his neck a bit.

"I can't tell you here, but Kakashi won't be joining us. He isn't to know. Sakura-chan, if you know all about it, feel free to lead us off." He looked over at Sakura, who nodded, opening the door and looking around.

"All clear, let's go. We have to use Shunshin,"

"Alright, ready Naruto?" Sasuke looked over to the blonde, who nodded.

Each activated their techniques.

"There is no sign of Naruto. Sasuke and Sakura have also seemed to disappear. I believe that, regardless of their level within their village and how much they are respected as near S-class shinobi, they stck together as a team. They might have run off... However, because of her affiliation with you, I don't know why Sakura might be joining them." Kakashi had his arms crossed over his chest.

"They are scarred of their teammate being destroyed. They probably think that they're above the laws. Kakashi, I'm putting you in charge of hunting the three of them down and destroying them with your dog tracker force. You will be the only one, alright? All three of them must be killed. Sakura will not betray Konohagakure, so, actually, it will be Sasuke and Naruto that you are to get rid of."Tsunade looked up from her seat, sort of nodding her head. "Go, now."

"Right," He disappeared, using his technique. When he was outside, on the roof, there was a large group of dogs around him, sniffing about. One caught a scent, and the rest of the team--including Kakashi--followed after it.

"There is no doubt they will be searching for us..." Sakura whispered, dangling her legs over the side of the high rock. Sasuke and Naruto where next to the stream, each on opposite sides. Sakura, noticing neither of them had on their forehead protectors, quickly took hers off. They weren't watching her. She stared at it for a second, then hid the metal plate by folding the cloth over it and tying it. Her bookbag was open next to her. She pushed the protector down to the bottom of the bag. "So, that makes us rogue. We're official nukenin, right?"

Sasuke looked up at the pink-haired girl. "Yeah."

"What are you two talking about?" Naruto suddenly screamed, staring from Sasuke to Sakura. "Nukenin, rogue? Searching for us? I thought this was a mission!"

"To some extent, Naruto-kun, it is. However..." Sasuke turned to face him. "You were right, last night. They have put a death warrant on you, official today by Tsunade-Hokage. It isn't really any variety of official mission, however our priority is survival. Sakura persuaded me to her coming."

"Where... are we supposed to go, then?" He gulped, looking at the two.

"There aren't really that many places we can go... I don't know." Sasuke crossed his arms over his chest. "Iwagakure, perhaps? We could go back to Nami no Kuni, maybe."

"If we go back to Nami no Kuni, we could tell them that Naruto-kun was falsely accused of treason against Konohagakure, and I'm sure that they'd understand. We could probably live with Tazuna and Tsunami." Sakura suggested, nodding. She closed her bag, pulling it onto her back and standing up.

Naruto frowned, closing his eyes, before nodding, and looking over at Sasuke. His voice was pretty shaky. "We're... never going to go back to Konohagakure, then... are we?"

Sasuke shrugged. "We might be able to, eventually, so... try not to worry about it. Alright, it'll take a couple of days to reach Nami no Kuni, and a few hours with Shunshin. Using Shunshin so much might not be such a good idea, though. We'll go halfway with Shunshin then instead of traveling across the water itself, we'll get a ride. Alright?" He looked from Naruto, who nodded, to Sakura, who did the same.


	6. Nami no Kuni

"Thank you."

"No problem. I might be seeing you around. Goodbye, and good luck with your mission!" A man waved, allowing the three inside the small boat to get off before rowing off a distance. The three waved slightly, then started walking towards somewhere very familiar. They'd taken the route through the water instead of across the new bridge, and it was lucky of them to find someone willing to do such a task.

A familiar voice was close by.

"Inari, hurry up, we'll be late for dinner! Your mother will kill me if we're late again."

The boy, however, who was chasing after a grown, deep gray-haired man, stopped.

"Grandpa... It's Naruto-kun!"

"Naruto...?" The man suddenly looked behind him, at the three who were walking up.

Naruto grinned, waving a bit. "Yo!"

"Tazuna, Inari, good to see you guys again!" Sakura waved, smiling at them.

"Sakura, hey! How have you all been? Its been years." Tazuna smiled, turning his whole body to look at the three who, with Inari next to them, walked up to the old man. "You've all grown quite a bit. Ha! Naruto, you're not even a shrimp anymore."

"Yeah!" Naruto grinned, looking over at Inari. "He's grown a lot, too, huh?"

Sasuke suddenly interrupted as Inari was about to speak. "Tazuna, we have something of a problem."

The man looked up, a questioning look on his face. "Yes, what is it?"

The Uchiha looked around. "Perhaps it is better to speak of indoors."

"Oh, yes, of course. Please,"

Within a few minutes, the five of them were inside, sitting down at a table. Sakura smiled at the woman that was setting dishes down on the table in front of them. "So, Tsunami, how's everything been?" She rested her arms on the table, watching around the group.

"Fine, yourselves?"

"Pretty good,"

"Sasuke, you said there was a problem or something?" Inari suddenly asked, looking over at the black-haired boy. He frowned, staring at Naruto, who seemed uncomfortable with the new conversation.

Sasuke nodded, looking from Naruto to Inari. "Yeah, actually... it's pretty bad. To put it simply... Naruto's been put in the bingo-book of Konohagakure."

Inari and Tazuna gave a shocked expression, while Tsunami suddenly twitched, frowning deeply.

"Why?" Inari's voice was pretty shaky.

Sasuke shook his head. "He killed a sensei of the village academy, though while he was under a sort of... spell, by this sword. Anyway, he's done nothing wrong in his right mind, and we won't allow them to kill him. They want to completely destroy him, and all. We were hoping..." He trailed off, looking over at Naruto, who's arms were crossed, and his face was hidden.

"To stay here?" Tsunami suddenly asked, turning to face them with a pot in hand. She was smiling. "If that's what you were thinking, then of course you can stay here. There's always room, especially for you three. You were the ones that replenished hope for our island." She smiled, starting to pour a delicious-smelling vegetable soup into the bowls. When she was done, she set out glasses of icy water and a strange type of utensil, one similar to chopsticks only it ended and connected with a spoon shape. She sat down, at the end of the table.

Naruto looked up, frowning. Sakura said something before he could say anything. "Thank you, Tsunami. We were thinking of just coming to visit, and ask that if you were asked not to tell of us dropping by, but that would help us so greatly!" She smiled, picking up the spoon and tasting the soup. It was really good.

"Yeah, thanks." Sasuke nodded, then waited a minute, staring down at the soup. The others had already started eating. Naruto was, too, but pretty slowly. He was frowning, and hadn't said a word. The blonde must have been glad to see Inari again, but he was pretty depressed. Finally, Sasuke picked up the spoon and began eating his own.

Tazuna, Tsunami and Sakura sparked up a conversation, talking about how everything had been so great when the bridge was completed, and how trade was great and everything got so much better. Inari was pretty much in and out of the conversation, making little comments, remarks, and occasionally answering questions, though he was staring at Naruto a bit. Naruto just occasionally depleted his soup, but he stopped when he was half done and sipped from the glass, staring at it as he gulped half down at once, not talking at all.

Sasuke sighed, finishing up his soup after a few minutes as well as the water. He crossed his arms on the table, starting to pay more attention to the conversation between the two women and the older man.

"Excuse me," Naruto suddenly said, pushing up from his seat. "I'm going for a walk." He turned around, walking off, his hands in his pockets. He hadn't even finished more than half of his meal. Sasuke watched him walk off, as did the rest of the people that were seated. A minute later, Sasuke suddenly stood up.

"Sasuke-kun?" Sakura frowned.

He looked at her, half shrugging. "I'm going to go train." He started out, thankful that he hadn't been stopped. Once he was outside, he headed for the nearby forest, the one he remembered Kakashi first teaching them how to use chakra control to walk on trees and everything. He stopped, seeing Naruto standing at the forest's edge, staring into it. It was really late, and it was so dark that it was hard to see even ten yards ahead.

"Naruto-kun?" He walked over to him, staring at him, one hand on the blonde's shoulder.

"Hey, Sasuke-kun." He turned his head, sort of smiling at him. The smile hurt Sasuke, though, because it was so obvious of how false it was.

"Yo. Memories, right?" He looked out into the forest, where Naruto was staring off into.

"Yeah..."

Sasuke, next to him, suddenly smirked. "We trained pretty hard back then, just to beat each other at being able to go higher. We never even passed Sakura's mark back then... We can probably do a lot better now, so could Sakura..."

Naruto stared over at him, a questioning look on his face.

"You're depressed. I have an idea." He turned, his hands in his pockets. He pulled out two kunai, holding one in his left hand and the other out in his right. "You have to mark the top of the trees and count how many you got. You can't mark one that I've marked, and I can't mark ones you've marked. We don't stop until every tree in this forest has a mark in the top. Alright?"

Naruto grinned, taking the kunai in his right hand and giving a nod. "Yeah. Sounds good."

"Ready?"

"Yeah!"

"Go!"

"Nine hundred... seventy-eight."

"..." Naruto looked at him, both their backs to a tree. He smirked. "Same."

The two looked up to the top of the tree. Both couldn't see above the darkness, but both knew they hadn't marked it. Without even looking at each other, the started in a sprint up it, jumping around branches. When they hit the top, both stuck in their kunais, creating slashes, and pulled them out, landing on the top two branches, looking at each other.

"This was the last tree, heh... It's a tie, then?"

Sasuke nodded, smirking. Both jumped down, landing next to each other, then fell to a sitting position, breathing heavily. They panted, their backs on the trees, eyes closed, seated next to each other on the roots.

A few minutes went by the of two just sitting there, taking breaths and trying to regulate their heartbeats. Finally, Naruto looked over at Sasuke.

"It was a lot like some little game, you know... That's really unlike you, Sasuke-kun..."

Sasuke shrugged, staring over at him. "You seemed extremely depressed, you know. You always get energetic and happy and shit when you're being challenged." He stared him in the eyes for a minute, before tearing his gaze away and closing his eyes.

"Thanks..." He pulled his vision away, staring out into the small clearing in the middle of the woods. There was a thin stream, and fireflies were moving all around. The sky was a navy color and the stars were plentiful, the moon full. He was smiling, then stood. "This whole thing's got me really worried... And you two, you and Sakura-chan, are here and everything... You two are bound to be added to the bingo book, as well."

"We'll be fine, alright? Try not to worry about it too much, really." He watched the blonde with one open eye, now, giving an emotionless stare.

Naruto hopped down to his knees, cupping both hands around something, before moving so his back was against the grass. He opened his hand after a second, revealing a little neon-greenish-yellow light in his hand. He smiled, staring at the firefly that was on one of his fingers, watching it. Sasuke couldn't help but smirk, amused by the other's actions.

He stayed there, quite and all, with the firefly on his finger for a few minutes. The moon was reflecting off of the river's water, which Naruto was on, giving him a rather beautiful appearance. It was pretty strange, how the light seemed to make him look like he was glowing or something. Sasuke stared at him, a bit in wonder, his mouth a tiny bit open and his eyes just half open, staring at him in a little bit of a dazed state. It looked unreal, like some sort of portrait or something, with him just sitting there and the moonlight reflecting off him, and the tiny little fireflies glowing in the background.

He stood up, silently so that Naruto couldn't hear him, and walked over, standing behind the blonde shinobi. For a second, the stayed there, before resting his hand in the other's hair and sitting next to him, right next to him. His side was against Naruto's arm. He leaned his head on the blonde's shoulder, closing his eyes, the hand on the boy's head moving down to being around Naruto's shoulders.

Naruto didn't move, figuring Sasuke would get mad, but just moved so he could stare over at him. It felt a bit awkward, with him leaning on his shoulder, but after a few minutes passed it felt... nice. Really nice. He smiled, inching his arm so it was around Sasuke's lower back, holding him gently.

"Tired, Sasuke-kun?"

"Mhr..." He nuzzled his head against the blonde's, making something of an attempt to hide his face.

"I'll take that as a yes..." He smiled, looking down at Sasuke's head, then resting his cheek against the other's head and closing his eyes. He was really tired, and he had been before they'd even had that little game. Besides, it was a welcomed change of attitude he was seeing from Sasuke.

A light yawn emerged from the lips of the woman, who sat up, rubbing her jade eyes, staring around the room. She sighed, frowning. "She heard a voice call down that breakfast was ready, and she quickly got up, walking over to the closet in a long, light-gray nightshirt. The door was closed, which was good. She was pretty glad that Tsunami let her share her room. She pulled out an outfit, quickly brushing her hair and dressing, laying the night shirt down on the futon and heading down, her feet bare as they touched the wooden floor. She sat down, rubbing her eyes, murmuring a 'good morning' to Inari, Tsunami and Tazuna, who were seated at the table.

"Naruto and Sasuke didn't come back last night, then?" Inari asked, leaning his elbows on the table. Tsunami was seated down, and sipping tea. She'd made a sweet-smelling breakfast, which was dished out evenly on the plates.

"No, I suppose not. They probably were busy. We shouldn't be too worried, you know." Tsunami smiled as she spoke, picking up a strawberry from her plate with her chopsticks and sticking the slice into her mouth, chewing it slowly and giving a pleased look.

Sakura picked up her chopsticks, downing a couple strawberry slices as she listened, frowning a bit. "I know, they're sure to be alright. They're both so strong, so that's not a problem. Hopefully they didn't get into some sort of fight or something."

"Let's not worry about it. If they aren't back by noon, you can always go bring lunch for them, Sakura." Tsunami offered, sipping her tea.

"Yeah, alright. That sounds good." Sakura nodded, then sipped from her own teacup before continuing to eat off the little white plate.

"Hey, wake up... Its pretty late."

"Mhr..."

"Sasuke-kun..." Naruto gently took Sasuke's shoulders, shaking him a bit. The Uchiha refused to wake up, however, so Naruto laid him down gently in the grass, cupped some water from the river in his hand, and splashed the icy liquid onto the other's face.

Sasuke instantly sat up, glaring at Naruto, wiping his face on his sleeve. "What the hell was that for?"

"You wouldn't wake up." Naruto smirked, sticking out his tongue a bit.

"Jackass..."

"You look adorable when you sleep, you know, Sasuke. Not at all so tough and touchy as you really are." Naruto poked fun at him, poking him gently in the arm with his left index finger. Sasuke felt his face warm up a bit, so he quickly looked another way, turning his back to the blonde. Naruto frowned. "Don't get so touchy..."

"Who said I was getting touchy!" He looked back, giving him a sort of glare.

"Well, you did when you put your head on my shoulder last night." He smirked, poking the Uchiha in the stomach. "Don't get angry at me, alright?"

"..." Sasuke looked away, half glaring at a tree, up at a mark either he or Naruto had made the night before. "Whatever..." It was hard, though, for him to stay angry at Naruto. Not to get angry, just to stay angry.

A few minutes of strange silence filled the area, then Naruto finally spoke up. His question was pretty odd, and both of them knew it. "Sasuke... what..." He was sort of stumbling over his own words. "What do you think is going to happen between us?" He twitched, suddenly stumbling even worse. "I-I mean, to us!"

Sasuke smirked, looking over at him with an emotionless stare. He shrugged, then looked away again. Though, when his face was hidden, he smirked again. He liked the first question better. "Naruto-kun, I honestly don't know... I'd guess we'll be staying here awhile, but when the ANBU find out we're here, we'll have to change location. I doubt we could really go anywhere else... We'll just have to find somewhere. We shouldn't jeopardize this country and its economy by our presence once its known by the Konohagakure shinobi."

"Sasuke, you say that like... like they are strangers to us. Like we aren't part of them." He crawled over to the Uchiha, sitting next to him, staring at him. Sasuke looked at him straight on.

"We aren't, not anymore. With everything that's happened, there is no way we could be part of that village's shinobi or even considered as shinobi of Konohagakure." He shook his head, closing his eyes, frowning.

"Sasuke..." He frowned, pulling his knees to his chest. "I'm scared... I don't want this... I want to go back to the village... I miss everyone..." He was starting to choke on his words and his eyes were glazing over.

Sasuke suddenly hugged him, tightly, his arms around Naruto's shoulders and the blonde's head against his chest. The blonde didn't even argue, just nuzzled his head and started crying into Sasuke's chest, on his shirt. The Uchiha just whispered a bunch of little things, trying to reassure him and calm him down.

Eventually, Naruto started to calm down, taking low, slow breaths. He pulled his head up, staring Sasuke straight in the eyes for a second, before resting his head down again. "Sorry..."

"You've always wanted to be Hokage, Naruto-kun..." He was still stroking the blonde's hair. "Now... you can't, because of all this... Don't say sorry for crying... You have every right... Naruto, your dreams... In this very country, I remember before that time I died, I once told you to never forget your dreams. Didn't I?"

"Y-yeah..."

"They've been taken away because of a stupid sword. Because of the effect it had on you... Because of what it made you do. Don't ever apologize after today for crying. Not over this subject..." His voice was light, reassuring, gentle and everything. Naruto just mumbled an 'alright' and 'ok,' then closed his eyes.

They ended up sitting there, like that, for probably a couple hours. Naruto ended up falling asleep again, and Sasuke just sat there, holding him and stroking his hair, staring at the river and thinking about everything. He looked up, hearing the sound of footsteps. Sakura was walking up, a basket in one hand. She stopped, suddenly staring at them, feeling extremely awkward.

"I, erm, I uh..." She twitched, seeing how Sasuke was holding Naruto, before looking down at the ground. "I get it now... But, hey, I brought lunch, if you're hungry..." Even though she felt so strange, she walked over regardless, sitting down and setting down the basket. Sasuke shook Naruto till he woke up, who just rubbed his head and stared at the basket eagerly, grinning.

He looked up at Sakura, not noticing that Sasuke had taken his arms away from him. "Hey, Sakura-chan... What time is it?" He looked up at the sky from the clearing, seeing it looked pretty bright and the sun was straight above them.

"It's around eleven thirty. You two were gone all night, I was pretty worried." She pulled out a plate of sandwiches, which were piled up with plastic on them, and then pulled off the plastic, setting it down and taking out napkins. "You two must be hungry, not eating a lot of dinner and skipping breakfast."

"Yeah, thanks!" Naruto, grinning, took a sandwich half, biting into it, chewing it down eagerly. Sasuke, next to him, just stayed quiet while he took a bite of a sandwich half of his own. After he finished it, he took another, and bit into a corner, watching Sakura as she ate her own. Sakura, all of a sudden, took out three bottles of water from the basket, setting one in front of herself, then Naruto, then Sasuke.

Naruto pulled it open, sipping from it, then set it down, leaning back a bit, propping himself up with his arm, staring up at the sky as he bit from his third sandwich half.

"So, what where you two doing last night?"

"Training," Sasuke said right away, sipping from the bottled water and finishing up his second sandwich half, going for another. Naruto nodded his agreement.

"You two will never change..." She sighed, shaking her head, and laying on her side while starting on her second sandwich half.

"Probably not," Naruto mumbled, finishing off his third. Sasuke finished his third off, as well, and both grabbed another, eating the fourth halves slowly. "But that's a good thing, because if we never change other than getting stronger we'll be really good. We'll be respected as such strong shinobi..."

"We'll be feared, if anything, you know." Sasuke murmured, finished the equivalent of a second sandwich and downing the rest of his water.

Naruto sighed. "Yeah, I know, but... people that know and trust us will respect us. We'll probably respect each other, too... Or not." He grinned, finishing his own water and sandwich, then standing up and stretching. "Thanks for the lunch, Sakura-chan."

"Yeah, of course. That all you want?" She sipped from her drink, smiling.

"Yeah,"

"Same, here," Sasuke said, standing and walking over to the river, sitting next to it. He pulled off his shoes, laying back and closing his eyes. Naruto watched him for a second, then turned to Sakura chan.

"So, how's Inari, Tazuna and Tsunami? How've they been?"

"Pretty good." She started putting things away, then stood up. "I'll head back now, and tell them you two are alright and everything."

"Sakura-chan,"

She turned around, looking over at Sasuke. "Uh, yes, Sasuke-kun...?"

"What you saw..."

"Oh, I know. See you guys later!" She sort of waved, smiling, running off.

His eyes trailed after her, until she disappeared behind a tree, then he closed his eyes again, listening to the wind and the sound of the river. Naruto walked over, next to him, sitting beside him, staring down at him. After a few minutes of just that calm, he pulled off his shoes, pulled his jeans up, and set his legs to his knees in the--deep--river. He swayed his legs back and fourth, enjoying the cool, refreshing feel of the river water against his legs. He carefully peered over at Sasuke, with one eye, the other eye closed, smiling a bit.

"Hey, Sasuke..."

"Hmn?"

"About last night..." He looked down at the water, opening his left eye now. "Thanks..."

"For what?" Sasuke sat up, staring over at him.

"For, like... comforting me, and stuff..."

"Oh, that... It was nothing, really."

"It was a bit unlike you; it wasn't nothing..." He inched closer to the Uchiha, until he was right next to him, staring up at him. He was at least three inches shorter, still.

Sasuke looked at him, then shrugged, suddenly one hand against the blonde's back. "It was nothing... Hey, let's go find where this lets out. Like a lake or something." He stood, taking his sandal-like shoes in two fingers, starting to walk on the water in one direction. Naruto, quickly picking up his own shoes, followed him, also on the water. He grinned, watching Sasuke. It didn't take them long to go through the forest, and the trees, then they found a large lake, which was cool and refreshing with a small waterfall that was lead up by a hill. Sasuke threw his shoes over on the shore, as did Naruto, then pulled off his shirt and shorts, so he was in just his black boxers, submerging into the water. He watched Naruto, who stripped into just his boxers, and jumped on Sasuke. Though, of course, Sasuke moved, and Naruto ended up diving into the water.

"This was a really good idea, Sasuke; it's so hot out..." He closed his eyes, moving so he was floating on the water on his back, moving himself with movements of his hands. Sasuke watched him, smirking a bit.

"Yeah, I know."

"Yeah, of course; you know everything, don't you." He rolled his eyes, staring up at the light-colored sky.

"Exactly." Sasuke swam over to where Naruto was, treading, before half pouncing on him, pulling him under, hugging him by the stomach. When they reemerged, Naruto's head was on Sasuke's shoulder, and Sasuke's cheek was rested against Naruto's head. His eyesight traveled down, staring at the boy. "Happy?"

Grinning, the blonde nodded. "Oh, like you couldn't believe."

"Try me." He nuzzled against the blonde, sort of unable to believe he was really hugging Naruto, and holding him like that, and all. He'd wanted to forever, and he really was doing it, now. And Naruto wasn't objecting.

"I... don't feel like it..." He nuzzled against him, closing his eyes, hugging tightly around Sasuke's stomach. "I'm comfortable like this..."

Sasuke's grip tightened a bit around Naruto's shoulders. He swam the two over to the edge, leaning his back against the shore, and pulling himself up, holding Naruto against him. He stared at a spot on the blonde's stomach, where there was a long mark that looked like an injury still healing up. It was glistening, because of the water, though. He closed his eyes, pulling Naruto in a way so that the blonde's back was against his chest, and his arms were around the other's stomach. Naruto, of course, didn't object, just leaned back against the Uchiha.

"Sasuke-kun...?"

"Hmn... Yes?"

"Why... did you never try this before? As in... showing me how you feel...?"

"I have... You've just never caught on." The ebony-haired boy kissed Naruto's neck, tenderly. "You started it, though, you know..."

"What...?"

"Back, the first day of us being real shinobi, in the orientation where we got our group leaders years and years ago, you kissed me first. On the lips, too."

"Someone bumped into me, and knocked me into you..."

"Still, I was the one that pulled away..."

Naruto opened his eyes, sideways glancing at him. "You didn't want it back then, then?"

"Yeah, I did, but they were going to kill you, all those females. So I had to get away." He smirked.

Naruto smiled, closing his eyes again. "Sasuke-kun..."

"Shhh..." He started stroking Naruto's hair, moving his fingers in a soft, tender touch down Naruto's neck, trailing down his spine. The blonde shinobi shivered at the touch, arching forward a bit in surprise, a little, tiny gasp emerging from his sweet, barely-parted lips.

"Sa-Sasuke..."

"Shhh," he repeated, his lips trailing over the other's ears, breathing against the side of his neck. His lips rested on the other's shoulder, now, suckling on a certain spot, running his tongue against it. When he brought his lips away from the spot, there was a little red mark. He'd made it in an extremely obvious spot on the front of his collar bone. He grinned, trailing his lips up the side of the blonde's neck.

"Bu-uuahhh..." He wasn't able to finish his sentence or anything, because of the treatment Sasuke was giving him. Sasuke's eyes trailed down, to Naruto's lap, and smirked, noticing what the blonde was probably trying to tell him, about the little 'problem.'

"Oh, it's no problem," he whispered, teasingly, to him. One of his hands trailed down, sliding under the rim of the blonde's boxers.

Naruto gasped, sort of, breathing out in a long, exhilarated breath, shivering at the touch of the other. He suddenly pulled back, his hands against Sasuke's chest, moving his body around a bit, staring at him sadly. "No, no, Sasuke-kun, its just that... I don't know how to stay it... Uhm..." He looked away, biting into his bottom lip.

"What is it?" Sasuke asked gently, a concerned look on his face, his hand that was on the back of the blonde's neck moving to touch his forehead. "Something wrong, the matter?"

"Erm... Just that..." He closed his eyes, frowning. "Forget it..." he whispered.

"No, what is it?"

"Nothing, really!"

"It wouldn't be nothing if you brought it up in the first place, Naruto." he stated logically.

"... Damn you and your logic..."

"Heh," he whispered, running his finger down the blonde's spine, enjoying how Naruto shivered at it. "Its obviously not nothing; tell me..."

"I... I don't know, I... I can't..." He leaned back, his shoulders against the Uchiha's chest, eyes closed.

Sasuke frowned, staring down at him for a second, looking away. "Tch, I understand." He figured that even though the blonde seemed aroused, and all, that he didn't want it.

He doesn't want that. Nor you...

He leaned back, against a large rock, staring over at the waterfall. "I hate when you don't tell me things."

"Sorry, Sasuke-kun..." He looked up at him, frowning. "I, I just..." His eyes trailed over to the water. "I'm so sorry... I'm just still upset about this whole thing, I guess... With never being able to return to Konohagakure..."

"Oh, that's all?"

Damn, you were wrong...

"I understand, though... I mean, everything you wanted and had was back there... Your friends, the becoming of Hokage, all that." He gently stroked Naruto's hair in a comforting way.

"You had friends, too, in the village... You had a lot back there, too."

Sasuke looked up, closing his eyes. "Not really, other than bad memories, about my clan. My brother. Everything... You know, I didn't have anything except the team, and though I'm grateful that he was such a good teacher, Kakashi-sensei wasn't really anything to me."

Naruto looked up, then smiled, standing up. "We should probably get heading back, then. See how everyone's doing and stuff."

"Yeah, alright." Sasuke, giving a nod, stood up too, following Naruto as the blonde led back to where they were staying.

"So, which one is stronger?"

"That has yet to be determined, sir. Both are extremely talented and have the best talent we've seen thus far in the world of the shinobi. There were many stronger than them, yes, however the three--including the female--are supposed to have each been personally trained by the Legendary Three, suggesting that they each have exceptional power that resembles that of the three. This also suggests that they have replaced the three, or will within soon time."

"Inform Haruno Sakura of the changes to the plan, and quickly. She's outside, waiting, so make it fast. Oh, also, inform her that we have recovered the sword again."

"Yes, sir."

"Haruno Sakura?"

"Yes?" The girl looked down from her perch in a tree at the young, white-haired woman who stared up at her with red eyes. "What is it...?"

"There have been changes to the plan. We have recovered the sword, and it is also necessary for you to know that we will be needing your full cooperation."

"Of course, go on." She jumped down, giving a nod. "I'm listening."

"The two boys, we need you to bring them here. Urge them to fight each other when you see something out of the ordinary. You'll know what it is, of course, because you'll have seen it before somewhere. Encourage them to fight, and at the exact second when their attacks meet, pin them to the wall with these." The young woman held out her hand, two strange-looking kunai within them. "They are modified from the sort of kunai that you told us that the older male has. Instead of pronged out, these are pronged inward, so that they will pin a certain way, in which they will cannot come out without being removed surgically. Understand?"

"Yes," She took the two kunai, sliding them into her boot, looking back to the woman. "Tomorrow."

"Yes, ma'am."

"We're back,"

"Naruto-kun, Sasuke-kun, hey, welcome back!" Sakura called, waving. She was at the sink, washing dishes, while Tsunami was at the stove, mixing something in a pot, which smelled really good.

"Yo," Naruto smiled, sitting down in a chair after kicking his shoes into a corner of the area near the door. Sasuke, doing the same, sat across from him, arms crossed on the table, watching Sakura. He saw something in her boots, and gave her a strange stare.

"Oh, those, they're just something I found in the store today when I went shopping, and I thought that I could see how well they work. They're pretty cool, but they're the only two like it in the world."

"They're interesting. Let me see one."

She pulled her leg up, sliding one of the kunai out and throwing it at him. He caught it in two fingers, then set it down on the table, leaning back in his chair and inspecting it. Sakura went back to washing dishes.

"It's weird," Naruto stated, staring curiously at it.

"Its dangerous, is what it is, Naruto." He rolled his eyes, sort of, then threw it back over to Sakura, who caught it and slid it under her boot without even turning.

"So, you boys hungry? Its late, and since it's the first full day we're having together, I'm making something really good. Hope you guys will like it." Tsunami smiled, turning the stove fire off. "Mind setting the table when you're done, Sakura?"

"Of course, just finished." Smiling, Sakura dried off the last spoon with a nearby towel, and picked up the chop sticks and holders on a nearby tray, setting them in front of Naruto, then Sasuke, then around the table in front of the other seats. Then, she picked up the stack of curved-up plates, setting them in front of the chopsticks at the table.

Tazuna and Inari suddenly came in, talking of something about building something. Sitting down, they looked over at Naruto and Sasuke.

"Naruto-kun, heya! You've been gone all day!"

"Heheh, I know. What have you been up to?"

"Grandpa and I were just talking about building something, is all. Now that I'm fifteen, you know, he's been letting me help him whenever he's building. I've gotten good at it, too."

"Oh yeah, well that's cool." He grinned, looking up as Tsunami started over to them. Whatever was in the pot smelled delicious, and would be, of course. The woman dished out a pile of noodles, which seemed to be hollow on the inside. Sakura came around behind her, pouring a thick, red sauce over them and sprinkling some light-green season over it. The two women set down the two things, once they were done, and sat down.

"Thanks for the help," Tsunami said, smiling over at Sakura as she picked up her chopsticks, tasting her own cooking.

"Of course!" Grinning, the pink-haired girl started eating her own. There were already glasses of water set around. Naruto started eating, as did Sasuke, though the Uchiha stopped for a drink after a moment.

Sakura suddenly looked up, over next to her at Sasuke, then across from them at Naruto. "Uh, hey, guys?" She bit into her bottom lip, not really that sure.

"Hmn? What is it?" Sasuke looked over at her, swallowing a mouthful.

"I was thinking, how about we go train tomorrow...? I mean, I found this really good spot."

"Heh, alright. That's cool." Naruto, grinning, nodded with his comment, then started devouring his dinner again. Sasuke didn't really comment, other than giving something of a nod, and starting down on his own. He finished before the blonde, so he excused himself, setting his dishes in the sink and starting up for the bedrooms. He remembered which room Naruto and himself had shared before, and Inari made a comment it was the same room, so he headed there.

Sitting down, he opened a window, staring out of it on his knees with his arms crossed on the sill, chin rested on his wrist. The moon was out, and full again, reflecting onto the vast, wide ocean. It was really calm out, and the gentle breeze blew against his face, though he didn't blink or anything. It was so soft, and smelled and tasted like the ocean, so it was refreshing. He heard the door shut behind him, though he didn't look up. The sound of the footsteps told him it was Naruto.

The blonde, behind him, pulled off his jacket and set it down at the foot of his bed, pulling his shirt off and the pants. He looked over at Sasuke, walking over to him and staring out over his shoulder.

"What are you thinking about?"

"You, the village, everything. Even, for some reason, those kunai Sakura had, and her mentioning to train together tomorrow. Almost unlike her." He shook his head.

"You think too much, Sasuke-kun. You should... probably... You know, go to bed." He started pulling off the Uchiha's shirt, then threw it to the side when he was done, laying his cheek against his friend's back.

"I'm not tired." he muttered, staring over his shoulder at the blonde.

"I know..." He smiled playfully, starting to push Sasuke's pants down. "But you should, anyway... So you won't be too tired tomorrow..."

"... Whatever..." he muttered, moving to his knees and letting Naruto remove his pants. He crawled over to one of the mats, sliding down under the cover and turning to face Naruto, who had already slid into his own a few feet away from him.

"Night, Sasuke-kun." He already closed his eyes, curling up with his pillow.

"Yeah, goodnight..." He moved on his back, staring up at the ceiling, crossing his arms under his head.

"We should be back around dinner time. Sorry that I won't be able to help..."

"Oh, it's quite alright. You sure you don't want me to pack you anything?" Tsunami asked, smiling.

"You got us a large breakfast, so that should be able to hold us over fine."

"Alright, well, have fun you three! See you later." Tsunami waved after them, watching the group head off. Something seemed a bit off to her, but she realized it was probably nothing.

It didn't even take them that long, while they were sprinting, to reach the destination that Sakura led them to. They stood in the large clearing, with one humongous tree near the edge that must have been thirty feet wide. Sakura leaned back against a tree. "Well, this is it."

"It's cool," Naruto mumbled, grinning. He looked over at Sasuke. "Heh, ready?"

"Yeah," Sasuke nodded, smirking, heading straight to the middle of the clearing. Naruto was there instantly.

Sakura frowned. "This again?"

"You're complaining?"

"I guess I can't..." She sighed. She had the two kunai in her boot again, and that leg was leaned up a bit against the tree, pressing against it, near her hip.

"Ready when you are," Sasuke muttered, smirking.

"Yeah... Rasengan!"

"Chidori!"

Sakura watched them, giving a slight sigh. But, internally, she was grateful that they weren't wasting time. She quickly pulled out the two kunai, and just as the two of them were nearly holding hands, and their attacks seemed to be forming together, she flung the kunai, and--along with the attacks--the two were pinned to the tree by their wrists, which were bleeding perfusely.

"Sakura, what the hell are you doing?" Sasuke suddenly yelled, trying to pull it out, but the way it was stuck in the tree, he gave up quickly, holding onto a branch so that he wouldn't be yanking down on the injury.

"Yeah, what gives?" Naruto was able to stand on a branch, from his side, though he looked pissed.

"Sorry guys, but..." She slid a regular kunai from her other boot, walking over to them. The attack was still sparking, the white-blue sparks from the Chidori crackling around the medium-blue swirl from Rasengan, sort of combining within each other. "The capture of the two of you is what is important at this moment."

"You..." Sasuke growled, glaring at her. "I get what's going on... You are the worst kind of trash, Sakura. The absolute worst."

"Wha... What's going on here?" He looked over at Sasuke.

"It is true, that those who betray their village are trash. And that those who would betray their comrades are worse than trash... However, those that would allow their friends to betray their village... They are the worst of trash, Sasuke. I said I'd be damned if I were worse than trash, and I know that I probably now am damned... But I am not going to become the worst. If I were, indeed, the worst kind, I would just allow you to run away. I can't accept what they are going to do to you two, because... you are my friends... However..." She closed her eyes, on the edge of crying, then opened her eyes, staring at them with confidence. "However, my duty to not only Tsunade-sama, my sensei, and to Konohagakure, however it is to the two of you. I will not allow you two to betray the village... I cannot allow it."

"So you'll kill us, is that it?" Naruto growled, angrily, glaring hatefully towards the pink-haired girl.

She looked down at her feet, frowning. "No, that is not what is going to occur here."

From behind her, Tsunade walked out, arms crossed over her chest.

"Tsunade..." Naruto frowned, looking away, closing his eyes tightly.

"Uzumaki Naruto, former shinobi, Chunin, ANBU, and member of Team Kakashi, Squad Seven, of Konohagakure. Uchiha Sasuke, the same as previous..." She closed her eyes, for a moment, before opening them again and looking at them. "All shinobi have a dream. This dream allows them to strive as hard as they possibly can, to become not only the best shinobi they are able of becoming, but to fulfil this dream. It is the soul reason they live, far more often then not. However... for some, these dreams are really all they have. And, for some, these dreams are the most dangerous things. They are the most powerful. For you two, however... The dreams that you two have, and even ones you two might share, will not be able to come true. You two have become nukenin; you not only betrayed the village but your friends who might live there. Your power puts you as a threat to our village, and thus we cannot allow you to live onward."

Naruto growled, grabbing for the kunai that held his hand roughly to the tree, before starting to pull at it dangerously hard. He jerked it, yanked it, and it was starting to come out. It finally ripped out of his hand, and he pulled his hand away from Sasuke's so that the attacks no longer were one, and both could disable them. He broke the kunai in half, holding his bleeding hand. He quickly reactivated his Rasengan, before Tsunade or Sakura could react, hitting the tree with it and destroying the thing. He grabbed Sasuke's hand, the one with the kunai in it, and urged him to follow, pulling at his hand, both using Shunshin.

Tsunade sighed, looking over to Sakura. "They're going to destroy their bodies if that's how they take those kunai out. Well, don't worry, Sakura. We'll have some of the other ANBU track them down. You don't have to; I know, how hard it must be, so we'll have others, alright?"

"No... Tsunade-sensei, I want to lead the tracker team to destroy them." She stared at the woman with confidence. "This is my task, because the two shinobi that have just fled are a danger to our village. I have a duty to our village, one I must always keep."

Tsunade nodded, smiling a bit. "Very well, then."

"You're bleeding horribly..."

"So are you..." Sasuke mumbled, staring as Naruto gently worked with the kunai stuck in his hand. He winced, as the blonde gently pulled it out, slowly, in a manner that was less painful than he'd seen the blonde do to himself. "Thanks..." He pressed against both sides of his wound with his right hand, holding it tightly. Naruto pulled out some bandages from his pocket, wrapping Sasuke's hand and wrist with it. He took out another, starting to try to work in his own, though Sasuke grabbed it from him.

"Sasuke?"

"Here," He took Naruto's injured hand, holding it tenderly, wrapping it with a gentle touch. When he was done, he just let go slowly of Naruto's hand, leaning back against a tree, closing his eyes. "So, now what?"

"Well... Sakura betrayed us, and I don't know if we can go back to Inari and Tazuna's house... It might not be wise..."

"We could probably sneak in, get our stuff, and get out before anyone notices," Sasuke said slowly.

"Yeah, we should. Then where will we go?" He frowned, looking up at him.

"Honestly, I really don't know... Naruto... How long do you think you could live on your own, if we were to go our separate ways for awhile...?"

"I..." He looked down. "Probably a few years, at the least I'm sure."

"Then..." Sasuke stood up, slowly, looking down at him.

"Sasuke, you can't possibly..." He suddenly stood up, grabbing his arm tightly. "No! I couldn't!" He sniffed, seeming to suppress tears.

"Naruto-kun... Its best, for at least now. In three years, we'll meet up again."

The blonde looked down, his forehead against the Uchiha's shoulder. "Where?"

Sasuke gently touched Naruto's cheek, staring him down in the eyes. Behind them, the waterfall was roaring, blasting the water down. He leaned down, suddenly hugging him tightly, his cheek against the blonde's. "Right here, right on this waterfall." He let go, slowly, looking at him, then taking his hand--the injured one--with his own, injured hand, then let go of that, too, slowly. "Alright?"

"Yeah, uhm... alright..." He nodded, then took a step back. "Bye, Sasuke-kun..."

"Yeah... Bye..." Without looking back, the Uchiha, using Shunshin, pretty much disappeared.

Naruto, watching where Sasuke had stood, closed his eyes. Then did the same.

"So, which is stronger? The one who lost everyone he cared about with happy memories of them, or the one that never had anything to know and has always felt alone?"

"They are equal to each other... However, for that, I don't know. I'd assume that it would be the one who lost everything after knowing what he had, and remembering happiness though going through life alone."

"But never knowing the warmth that one had early on, even though the other lost it, he felt that way almost all his life..." A third commented.

"Yes," Sakura, the second voice, said, nodding. "I suppose that it would, then, make them equal."

"The attack that they create when they touch their Chidori and Rasengan... That attack is what we are after and what we need. However... we will wait awhile to track them down. If they are about to die, then we will go and collect either one, then shortly the other. They will get stronger over time, so that is good." the first voice said, nodding. The white-haired girl looked at Sakura and the nearby other.

Sakura frowned. "If we allow them to grow stronger..."

"We will also be growing stronger, of course, right?" The male looked up at the white-haired girl.

She nodded. "Now, go train over the next amount of time until you are called for."

The male and female disappeared, leaving the white-haired girl to sit on the top of a tree, staring down at where the two were. A smirk would have been on her lips, though it was unable.


	7. Soyogu

Note: I know that some of you think that my writing style might be a tiny bit OoC-ish, and that some of the characters really wouldn't do some of the things they did, such as the Sakura Betrayal thing, but, eh. It's my fic, and I technically can write it however I want to, right? But that doesn't mean I will; I'll try to get them a bit more... into their true personalities, though I don't always tend to do things the standard way. Stereotypes are a bit to... stereotypical. Anyway, that's all I have to say for now.

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"So, why was that man–Iruka?–the target?" a light, feminine voice asked, the body it came from leaned back against a white wall, contrasting it with an outfit of complete black.

"It was the only one who loved him or cared for him. He's the one he found dear, so I had the sword have him kill that man. That man which pitied the Kyuubi."

"Pitied, or adored him?"

A smirk came across the male's face, the face that resembled still that of someone who had already passed on years before at the hands of who he believed to be his master. "Maybe both."

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Cerulean eyes stared around uneasily, taking in the scenery that had barely changed over the years. A slight wind blew, winding through the spiked, blonde locks on the man's head. Sitting down, he crossed his legs, which were clothed simple in black, long pants. His boots, keeping his feet hidden, rose halfway to his knee, and were held closed by belt-like straps in random, crossing patterns.

He sighed, crossing his arms atop his knees, closing his eyes, frowning. Around his upper body clung a long-sleeved black shirt, on his left an orange circle was, with a white, inward-forming spiral was present. The shirt buttoned up the front, though there was a part that pulled over it, thus hiding the buttons' existence, and with the shirt being black, it was hard to tell that was the case. Around his neck, dangling over the shirt, a familiar necklace was there; the long stone in the middle with the two, bead-like stones on either side, glistening like glass over water, the same color it had always been. It'd been a present from the Fifth Hokage.

It'd been nearly an hour, and he was wondering if he was late. Or maybe early. For a second, he wondered if he had the time and date right, then shook his head, knowing he'd remembered exactly.

He jumped back, landing on the water, when a kunai flung at him. He'd caught it between his index and middle finger. Staring at it for a second, his mind began to register something; the strange shape of the tip of the weapon. The point was split and the two pricks were curled slightly out.

His mind suddenly recollected the exact weapon. He looked up above him, staring into a thick, huge tree, the branches of the said tree expanding and stretching completely over the width of the river. On one branch, there was a black-haired figure, at least five inches taller than the blonde figure, eyes red with three tear-shaped dots in a familiar formation.

The man jumped down, landing on the water next to the blonde, a hand outstretched to help him stand. Taking it, the shorter male stood, grinning up at the other stupidly.

"Sasuke-kun... You look quite different."

"You still look something like the definition of stupidity." Smirking, the Uchiha closing his eyes, stretching his arms. His shirt was similar to Naruto's, only it was short-sleeved, with bandages wrapped around the top of his left arm, between the shoulder and elbow, and bottom–between the elbow and wrist–of his right. His legs were bandages similarly, though his boots hid most of it. As usual, he was wearing shorts. Most of his outfit was black, as usual. His boots, however, were similar to Naruto's, only instead of belt-like straps, they were leather straps that hooked together by tiny, nearly-unnoticeable silver hooks and loops.

Sasuke's arms were rested down again at his sides when they were fully stretched, though his left reached out expectantly.

Naruto just set the kunai back in the other male's hand, smirking, then frowned. "It's been... nearly four years. We're here, but..."

"Now what?" Sasuke finished for the blonde, staring at him, again, expectantly.

"Now you listen and obey," a voice called. It was that of a female, and was slightly familiar. The two looked over into the nearby clearing, where the sun shone down on the area. In the middle of the clearing, a young woman stood. Her shirt was black, with black, tight shorts and a pink, loose skirt that went down to her knees. Simply black, lace-up boots rode up to her knees, and around each hand was a pink glove with black knuckle spikes on the right and a black diamond on the back of the left. Her pink hair was longer, though with her growth, still looked the same, shoulder-length level, and was. The emerald eyes that were gazing intensely at the two males across from her still held the same glisten in the sunlight.

A low growl escaped Sasuke's lips. "Sakura..."

"W-wait, Sasuke-kun, don't attack... Listen to me."

Sasuke looked at Naruto, who shook his head, then looked back at her. "We won't."

"Please, you have to... Trust me on this!"

"Why should we trust you, huh, Sakura!" Naruto growled, glaring hatefully at her with utmost apathy.

"Naruto-kun..." She frowned, staring down at the boots around her feet, then back up to them with a new-found look of determination. "You have to!"

"We won't." Sasuke repeated what he'd said seconds before.

"Why not?"

"Trash is not something we will trust." he stated simply. He clutched his left hand, which still had a scar from the injury the pink-haired girl had inflicted. Naruto had just done the same, still also having a scar.

"Sasuke-kun, Naruto-kun..."

"Don't think you can speak to us so familiarly." Naruto yelled, glaring at her hatefully. The young woman was surprised to see hate so apparent in his eyes, especially towards her; she remembered the blonde used to have had a slight liking for her. It'd changed in the many years they'd been apart, she could tell. She shook her head, clenching her fists.

"Listen to me! I-"

"We're not interested," Naruto whispered. Both the two males turned, staring away, towards the lake downstream.

"You two won't be hunted any more by the ANBU! You guys were taken out of the bingo-book..."

Naruto stopped, as did Sasuke, but only after watching his friend do so first.

Sakura hid a smirk behind her smiling face as she saw them stop. "Will you now listen?"

"Talk," Sasuke ordered, his glare still a bit hateful towards the girl that he'd once actually slightly trusted to some extent, as a teammate.

"Two years ago, Tsunade was researching the sword, that weird one, and... well... A year later, she was found dead. The day before, she ordered the both of you off the bingo-book, because of one of her findings. None of us could figure out how she'd died, but her order was still legitimate. For pretty much a year now, Konoha has been without a Hokage... Your names came up as possible candidates, actually..." She shifted uneasily, staring to the ground, then back to them. "And I was told to track you two down. I didn't know where to find either of you, but I'd overhead something you two had said years ago about meeting up here... So I decided, when I remembered that, that I'd do just that..."

Sasuke looked over at Naruto, who was staring at Sakura with an interested look.

She looked him straight in the eyes. "Naruto, Sasuke... I'd like you two to come back with me to Konoha to discuss this. There was no one else, who's name came up, that would accept it, so we were desperate..."

"Desperate." Sasuke repeated, closing his eyes, his voice saying it coldly. "Meaning that Naruto was the last person you'd ask, so he is the last person you're asking."

"That's not..."

"It seems like it," Naruto whispered, staring at Sasuke, who nodded, then looked back at the woman.

"But..." She sighed heavily, frowning deeply. "Why not?"

Sasuke was staring again at Naruto, waiting for him to answer, which the blonde did without a seconds hesitation.

"I have no desire to become Hokage..."

Both Sakura and Sasuke actually shocked stares, but Sasuke's just turned into a smirk as he turned to face his ex-teammate. "You have your answer right there. Now, leave."

She sighed, closing her eyes, smiling a frail smile. "I expected... that it wouldn't work out so easily... Nothing ever does, right?" She looked up at him, a dull look in her eyes, before closing them again. Her right leg bent upward, and she reached into her boot, sliding a single kunai from the boot. "I had hoped it'd be that easy... You two have suffered, and, believe me if you want or don't I won't care, but it does hurt me... I hate to see you two in more pain... But..."

"How many lies will you stuff inside our brains, Sakura, before you believe we've had enough? How many lies does someone like you have inside their head to give to others? How many?" Naruto slowly asked, staring down at her from next to Sasuke. He repeated, "How many?"

She just raised the kunai to between her eyes, opening them into slivers, which was barely open, staring at them sadly. "Too many," she breathed, one of the two fingers holding the kunai moving. When it no longer applied pressure to the weapon, nine more slid down from behind the original one, now a chain of ten rattling against each other.

Sasuke stared hatefully at her, then just looked nearby over to Naruto. Exchanging uncaring stares, both gazed back at the younger female.

"Sakura, you're..."

"The worst kind of trash; I know." She continued staring at them through the sliver-sized gap between her two eyelid halves. "I know that, I know... I do know..."

"Then why?" Sasuke asked, suddenly, glaring at her. His left hand started gathering energy, glowing a white color.

Sakura had been charging her right hand with chakra, and when she saw Sasuke's Chidori ready to attack at his side, she jumped up, launching herself by kicking off a high tree branch, at the blonde next to the older male.

Naruto growled, jumping a foot back, closing his right hand around a small sparkle of light-blue energy, that grew larger and larger into an orb that he could barely clench. Just as Sakura landed in front of him, Sasuke threw himself at her, his fist connecting with her stomach, sending her back into a tree.

Sakura, breaking the tree in half on impact, grabbed one of the branches that was collapsing on her and pulled herself up on it, jumping down, only to have herself pushed down from behind by Naruto's charged Rasengan, leaving a fair-sized crater around her. Her fingers, as she slowly pulled herself up, each touched two of the kunai, pressing down against all ten.

Naruto landed from the air onto the ground on the edge of the crater, another charge of the light-blue spiraling energy collected under the pressure of his right hand. Sasuke stood on her other side, his large, out-ward collection of a very similar light-blue energy held in his left hand.

The pink-haired girl again kicked off, this time from the ground, jumping forward into the dense jungle a few hundred yards, then pulling herself up into the branches as she continued.

The two behind her didn't hesitate to sprint after her, jumping also in the branches and switching places as they did. They both remembered the strange energy Sakura had once been after, when their two attacks combined; it'd been the reason for the scars on their hands, and why the had to separate in the first place. It'd been so that the attacks couldn't be near each other.

Sakura suddenly stopped, hidden behind a tree she'd jumped off from. Her fingertips pressed harder against the kunais in her hand.

The two males landed in the tree above her, staring down at her. The female already knew they were there, but made no attempts to move. Her lips were curled up, unable to help the smirk.

Naruto jumped down, landing in front of her, kicking upward, but was surprised to find she didn't object, and allowed herself to be kicked into the second clearing of the forest. Sasuke jumped down, running at her, aiming his punch for her head, Naruto doing the same from the other side.

Seeing her chance, the woman grabbed a branch above her, flinging herself onto it as the two males touched their fists, a black energy suddenly mixing in with the two white ones, the energy level so destructive that trees uprooted around them. Their fists pulled away, but the energy did not dissipate. Around Naruto's right arm, and around Sasuke's left, a white energy spiraled around to their shoulders from a small point in their palms, swirling with both black and white tones that refused to mix.

She looked up, grinning widely at the two who stood there, staring at their own arms. "(1)Soyogu, is what it will be called. It is what it is called."

Sasuke looked up, charging at Sakura despite knowing nothing about the strange new jutsu that seemed to have come about from his Chidori and Naruto's Rasengan. He swung at the female, missing, and turned around with his foot in the air, connecting with the side of her head and sending her into a tree. She took a minute to recover, but Naruto was on her before she fully stood up, his fist sent into her stomach, pushing her further into the tree until it cracked, falling backward with her halfway in it.

The blonde's breathing was irregular as he stood on the ground, backing up a few paces. Sasuke, behind him, was glaring at the pink-haired woman he thought he used to know.

"Gah..." she breathed, coughing horribly as a thin stream of scarlet liquid slid down from the crook of her mouth. She brought the back of her hand to her lips, coughing against it and using it to wipe the blood from her face. Her eyes stared back up to the two males. "Soyogu is powerful, after all. Heh..."

"Sakura... We won't hesitate to kill you." Naruto growled, glaring still at her.

"I know... So why are you hesitating now?"

"We're not," Sasuke pointed out, jumping suddenly above her, using Shunshin to get there faster than her eye could catch and grabbing her neck, holding her up into the air. His left hand still resinated with the strange mix of energy, which he used to grab the wrist holding the ten-chain of kunais.

Naruto was behind the woman with the same speed, pressing his fingertips into her back and sending shocks of energy coursing through her body. She let out a loud, pain-filled scream, then squinted her eyes at Sasuke.

"You two will be caught no matter what it takes, and no matter who gets you... The whole village will be after you... You won't have a moment alone..." she breathed, then growled out another pained gasp. "And with the marks of Soyogu, you won't be able to go far away from each other... Now that its burned into your flesh..." She coughed, blood sliding again from her mouth as she moved her right hand in such a way that the kunais were sent through her own wrist, the rest dropping and dangling. "Die... Die correctly... and stop making our village waste itself on your lives..."

Sasuke didn't even raise an eyebrow when he saw tears forming in her eyes, nor when they slid down her face. "Oh, Kami-sama... I'm so sorry..." she whispered, her eyes fully closed. Naruto closed his eyes, shaking his head and regulating his breathing. "I really am trash, aren't I?"

Sasuke stared at her for a second, then released his grip on her, staring at Naruto. "She'll bleed to death here. She's not going anywhere. She's already dead."

Naruto nodded, following Sasuke as he started to walk off, but Sakura somehow managed to lift her arm and grab onto Naruto's pants leg, staring desperately up at him. He glared down at her, then frowned, giving a light sigh and shaking his head, before kicking off her hand and running to catch up with Sasuke. The woman winced, coughing more blood onto the ground, holding one hand over the spot on her stomach that had been tortured the most. Her insides were mesh due to the attacks.

Her lips were up in a smile, a real smile, remembering when she'd actually been friends with those two. She realized how quickly that had ended, and why. It was a simple thing, really. The most simple. Because of one tiny error that had been made years and years and years ago. If that hadn't happened, she'd not have been there, dying, her death by the hands of her friends.

She'd told Tsunade she felt inferior for not being able to help Sasuke when the sword got to him. It wasn't because the sword gotten to him.

It was just her acknowledging her doubt of her strength.

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(1)- Soyogu is Japanese for Flicker, which, if thought about enough, works with the type of attack that the technique actually is. And, alright, this isn't exactly canon, but I wanted to make something up just for this fic. I felt like it. Deal with it... 'Cause it'll be a major part of the next chapter. Maybe. Or I might just make it have barely a minor significance. I'm not sure. Ah, whatever.


End file.
